SCHOOL DAYS: 555
by Kamen Rider Chrome
Summary: It's high school drama with a dash of action! School Days with a twist! Be prepared for romance, humor, action and suspense as we explore the lives of the students of Sakakino High School. Makoto/Sekai, Kotonoha/OC. Kamen Rider Faiz/School Days cross.
1. 555 Faiz

Warren had entered Ryuki's mind to find out more about this Ifrit, in a more personal manner. After the last time Ifrit took control of Ryuki and nearly cost them their lives, Ryuki had no choice but to lock up his Yin-self in his prison. Warren wanted to have a little chat with Ifrit.

When Warren arrived at the cage, he could see a human figure suspended by chains that were locked onto his arms and legs. A steel muzzle covered the lower half of his face but his blue eyes stared out at Warren hatefully.

Warren opened the cage and entered before he looked up at Ifrit. He sure looked like Ryuki, except for his black hair and blue eyes. Warren could also sense nothing but malevolence coming from the imprisoned boy. "I guess you know who I am, huh?" Ifrit responded with a snarl. "I bet you can't talk with that thing on, huh? Let me help you with that." Warren snapped his fingers and the muzzle snapped off. "There, feeling better?"

"What do you want?" Ifrit demanded. "If it's a fight you want then you're out of luck! I'm in chains!"

"I just want to talk," said Warren. He had experience talking with talking to angry people like this. He just had to be calm and direct when dealing with this one.

"Well, too bad all I want is to kill you!" Ifrit snapped.

"Why are you so angry?" Warren asked.

"Wouldn't you be if you were locked up like this?" Ifrit questioned back as he regarded his position. "I'm locked up like an animal!"

"Well, after what you did, I can say that you deserve it," said Warren. Ifrit growled.

"Look, if you just came here to make fun of me, then you can just leave!" Ifrit snapped.

"I'm here to offer you a second chance," said Warren.

* * *

**SCHOOL DAYS: 555**

* * *

He parked his bike in the parking lot before removing his helmet. He had cold blue eyes and his hair was short, spiky and unkempt. He wore the school uniform for the most part, but with the white shirt not tucked in and the tie around his neck worn loosely with the top button of his shirt undone. And, instead of the school's blazer he wore a black leather bomber jacket with fur around his cuffs, the collar and the hem of the jacket.

"So, this is Sakakino High, hm? Guess that teme has some good taste at least," the boy muttered as he held onto his helmet before marching over to where the collective students were standing. They were in front of a message board, looking at classroom assignments. Today was the entrance ceremony and these students were freshmen just like him.

Well, maybe not exactly like him but pretty similar.

He shoved his way through the crowd, rudely, to get to the front to see which class he would get. He probably stepped on some shoes but didn't care. All he cared about was getting this thing over with…

And that was when he saw HER.

She was beautiful and had a really curvy figure. Her chest wasn't so bad either. She wore one of the two standard uniform for the girls, which was a black waist coat worn over a white shirt with a red bow tie and a short skirt. She wore black thigh high stockings. Her hair was long and dark and she had brown eyes. The girl noted he was staring at her and smiled. "Oh, hello," she greeted politely.

"Hi," he answered.

"So, you're a new student here?" she asked.

"Yup, and starting today I'm a freshman," he replied.

"Really, so am I. What class are you in?" she asked him.

He looked at the message board and found his name. "There," he pointed. His name was written among the names grouped together in Class 1-4.

"Wow, we're classmates!" she said happily. "I'm Kotonoha Katsura."

"My friends call me Ryuji Hasuma," he introduced himself.

And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

It was several months later when a security guard in Sakakino High was doing his rounds. That was when he found a girl standing in the schoolyard. "Hey, are you a student in this school?"

The girl, in a sad tone, answered, "I wasn't able to enter this school…"

"Why?" the security guard asked, curious.

"Because…" the girl's lips curled into a smile, "I'm an Orphenoch."

To the guard's horror, the young girl changed into a monster that was tall, skinny, and had gray skin. Fins rose from her head, forearms, and waist. She looked very similar to a fish as she stalked towards the guard. She was armed with a crossbow. This monster was known as an Orphenoch. The Archerfish Orphenoch to be precise. The guard screamed in terror, but the Archerfish Orphenoch raised her weapon and fired at him. The arrow knocked the walkie-talkie out of his hand and cut him deeply. The guard cried in pan as he stumbled backwards, trying to get away from the monster. The Archerfish Orphenoch only giggled sinisterly as she reached out for the man.

Suddenly, a roaring engine caught her attention, making her turn to look. What she got was a fist to the face. The Archerfish cried in pain as she fell backwards from the assault. Looking up, she saw that a figure on a motorcycle had attacked it. The person was donned in a black bodysuit that had red lines painted on it that glowed in the night. As he dismounted, she saw that the figure had silver metal chest armor and armored shoulder pads. His head was covered by a black helmet that had a pair of large glowing yellow eyes and short antennae. Around his waist was a metal belt which had a flashlight and camera attached on the sides. The middle looked like it may have been able to double as a cell phone.

"_Who are you?_" the Archerfish Orphenoch demanded as she got back to its feet.

"Your executioner, bitch," the figure snorted before he reached to his belt and then pulled a chip out of it. He then went to his bike and pulled out a handlebar as he slid in the chip.

"**Ready."**

When he drew the handlebar out there was a red blade that looked like to be made of crystal.

"_I won't let you stop me!_" the Archerfish Orphenoch hissed as she took aim at the armored figure. She then shot an arrow at the man. The armored figure rolled to the side before he grabbed his buckle and opened it, revealing that it was indeed a cell phone. He pressed the Enter button before shutting it again.

"**Exceed Charge."**

A stream of red energy traveled up the red lines connected to the belt, down the figure's arm and into the sword, making it shine. Gripping the weapon, the armored figure dashed towards the Archerfish Orphenoch with no hesitation in stopping. The Orphenoch likewise charged to try and kill the man who was trying to stop her. When the two were only a few steps from each other, the armored figure slashed widely before dashing past. Both fighters came to a stop, standing still. The silence lasted for a moment before the Archerfish was engulfed in blue flames before exploding. A red Phi symbol hung in the air before the Archerfish Orphenoch dissolved into a pile of ash.

"Heh," the armored figure snorted as he replaced the chip and powered down his sword. "Small fry." He mounted his bike and rode away.

* * *

The next morning, the security guard was telling his colleagues about what he'd experienced. First it was the Orphenoch and then the appearance of the mysterious Masked Rider who'd saved him.

Ryuji entered through the school gate and parked his bike before he got off and headed to class. At the shoe lockers he met his best friend, Kotonoha.

"Morning, Kotonoha," Ryuji greeted.

"Ohayo, Ryuji-kun," the girl greeted sweetly.

In class, there was a lot of talk about the appearance of the 'Masked Rider' again. Otome was with her friends, talking about the masked hero.

"Why is everyone always talking about him? It's not like he's real or anything," scoffed Ryuji.

"True, but they believe he's real," stated Kotonoha.

"What about you? Do you think he's real?" Ryuji asked his friend.

"There's no such thing as the Masked Rider. Just an urban legend," said Kotonoha with a shake of her head.

"Hey, I agree with you," Ryuji agreed. "I bet this whole Masked Rider and Orphenoch business is just some sort of publicity stunt or something the tabloid made up."

The door slid open as the teacher came in. It was their homeroom teacher, as well as their World and Japanese History teacher, Warren Smith.

"Rise, Bow, Sit," said Kotonoha as Warren went to the front of the class to take attendance.

* * *

During lunch break, Warren and Ryuji were in private conference. Well, that was the excuse. What they were really doing was official business between them. As part of his 'parole' Ryuji had to report every time he used the Faiz Gear. He also had to report in on who he was fighting with it.

"So it was a girl who had applied to school here but failed?" asked Warren.

"Seems like it," Ryuji shrugged. "She wasn't much of a challenge though. She was probably a newly spawned Orphenoch and the power messed with her mind."

"Possibly," Warren nodded. "It seems that most of the Orphenochs are popping up around here. A few variations, but this area is where they pop up."

"Doesn't matter where they are," Ryuji snorted. "I'll dust them all."

Warren frowned. As his parole officer, Warren was to make sure Ryuji kept out of trouble and didn't abuse his power. "Don't enjoy this job too much. This is your duty, not a game. Consider it as community service."

"Right…right…I gotcha," Ryuji rolled his eyes. He checked his watch. "Excuse me, but Kotonoha's waiting for me in the cafeteria."

Ryuji quickly exited the room and headed back to the cafeteria. Scanning through the room, he tried to spot Kotonoha. Still, he didn't see her anywhere. It was odd since she usually would be where she said she would be. Still, shrugging, he headed to somewhere that some of the students would eat their lunch. The roof.

Traveling up the stairs, he opened the door to see who was up there. At the far end, he spotted Kotonoha, and she wasn't alone. Beside her was a girl with a shoulder-length black hair and the other was a boy with short dark hair. He didn't recognize the pair of them, but he was wary.

"Oh, hello, Ryuji-kun," Kotonoha smiled.

"Hey Kotonoha," Ryuji waved. "Who are these two?"

"Oh, these are Saionji-san," Kotonoha smiled, referring to the girl. "And Itou-san," She gestured to the boy.

"Hey, I'm Ryuji," Ryuji introduced himself. "Ryuji Hasuma."

"Well, take a seat, Hasuma-san," Sekai said. Ryuji nodded and went over, planting himself next to Kotonoha. He glanced at Makoto and noted how the boy kept looking at his best friend. For some reason he couldn't fathom why he wanted to tear the boy's eyes out.

The four then had lunch together, as well as did some talking. Sekai actually befriended Kotonoha one day during gym class since class 1-4 and -1-3 always shared a gym period. Ryuji himself never bothered to befriend anyone except for Kotonoha. That was enough for him, though.

"So, tell us about yourself, Hasuma-san," said Sekai.

"Well, there's not much to say, really," Ryuji said. "I am Kotonoha's assistant."

"So, you're the assistant class rep," said Sekai.

"Hey, she's my best friend. I wanted to help," said Ryuji. Actually, he threatened people to elect him as the assistant since Kotonoha would probably end up doing all the work since he didn't trust anyone else to pull their weight. At least Kotonoha could trust him.

"So, have you heard about what happened last night? The Masked Rider showed up," said Makoto.

"Don't tell me you actually believe that stuff," said Ryuji with a frown. "It's just tabloid nonsense. It can't be real. Something like that belongs on TV, not in real life."

"Well, but there are witnesses and…"

"No concrete evidence," Ryuji cut Makoto off. "The Masked Rider is just an urban legend, the same as these monsters. They are like vampires and werewolves. People have heard about them, but there's no evidence except for eyewitness account. The guard must've been drunk or something and dreamt what he saw."

"Katsura-san, what do you think?" Makoto asked the long-haired girl.

"I agree with Ryuji-kun," said Kotonoha. "All these talks of Masked Riders and monsters sounds like something from a TV show."

The bell rang and Sekai decided it was time to go. "Well, I'm headed to class. What about you, Makoto?"

"Oh, I'll catch up. I need to talk with Katsura-san," said Makoto.

"Me?" Kotonoha pointed to herself. Makoto nodded.

"Well, don't be late, Kotonoha," Ryuji said to his friend as he followed after Sekai. Actually, Ryuji hung back and stood behind the door as he listened in on the conversation. He didn't trust Kotonoha to be alone with that boy.

That was the reason why he was spying on them from a crack in the door. However, he also had company in Sekai using his shoulders as a stool so she could see through a higher portion of the crack in the door.

"He'd better not blow this," Sekai muttered to herself.

"Blow what?" asked Ryuji with a frown.

"Makoto has been crushing on Katsura-san since the beginning of the year," Sekai explained. "They travel to school on the same train. Makoto got infatuated with her so I'm helping them out."

Ryuji had to bite his tongue to keep from cursing. Luckily he didn't break the skin or else blue flames would have shot out of his mouth. Still, there was no way he could let Makoto just waltz up and begin dating Kotonoha. They didn't know anything about each other. For all he knew, Itou could be some kind of sex addict that couldn't choose a girl if his life depended on it.

"Katsura-san, do you want to go out sometime…?" Makoto began to ask. Ryuji clenched his fists. He didn't know why or understand but he felt angered by this boy's audacity.

"You mean…on a date?" Katsura questioned shyly, blushing a little.

"Yeah, after school," said Makoto.

"This is it…" said Sekai eagerly as Ryuji's eyes narrowed.

"I'm sorry, but I can't," declined Kotonoha.

Sekai nearly fell down the stairs but Ryuji managed to grab hold of her before she did. They both listened in as Sekai let out a hushed, "What!?" Ryuji, however, was grinning.

"Huh, why not?" Makoto asked.

"I'm sorry, but I like someone else," Kotonoha answered. Ryuji narrowed his eyes.

'_Who? She likes someone else? Who?_' Ryuji thought in his mind. He continued to eavesdrop.

"He's someone special, and you can say we're very close. I really like him, but I don't know if he likes me like that," said Kotonoha.

"So, you're waiting for him?" Makoto asked.

"I just want him to see me as more than a friend," said Kotonoha. "I'm sorry, Itou-san. I'm sure you're a nice guy but I can't date you until I find out if he really likes me or not."

Makoto looked thoughtful. "It must be someone pretty special, huh?"

She nodded. "The person I like has always been by my side, supporting me from the beginning," she answered. "You can say that I really love him."

"Then, whoever this guy is, he's lucky," said Makoto.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay…"

* * *

Makoto was disappointed to say the least, but he was half-expecting the answer anyway. A girl like Kotonoha didn't stay single long or refrained from seeing a guy she liked. Still, he had a chance. If this guy didn't return her feelings then maybe he could give it another shot. Sekai said she'd support him, but right now he needed a friend. Something to take the edge off. Hope springs eternal after all.

* * *

Ryuji was quiet as he and Kotonoha walked to his bike. Kotonoha didn't know why he was quiet but she knew him well enough by now. When he wanted to speak, he would speak.

He eventually did.

"So, what did Itou talk with you about?" Ryuji asked.

"Oh, he wanted to ask me out," she answered.

"Oh." He knew it already.

"I said no."

"I see…" Ryuji said.

"You sound relieved," she stated.

"Well, of course I do. I don't think that guy's good enough for you," said Ryuji.

"And what makes you say that?" she questioned further.

"I'm your best friend! Of course I should have an opinion on whom you date! I want you to be happy!" he told her.

"Ryuji-kun, do you want to know why I declined his offer?" Kotonoha asked.

"If you wanna tell me…"

"I like someone else," she answered.

"Oh, and do I know this person you like?" Ryuji asked.

Kotonoha giggled. She couldn't believe his dense he was. It was so cute. She didn't answer but instead pecked him on the cheek. He blushed a little.

"Come on, let's get home," said Kotonoha.

"Um…sure…"

* * *

"And so she declines when this Itou guy asks her out and the only reason she gave him was that she liked someone else," said Ryuji to Warren. Both were sitting in the living room. As both Ryuji's parole officer and legal guardian, Ryuji was required to stay with him.

Warren could only stare at his young friend and say, "Ryuji, didn't you get any hints from that?'

"What hints?" Ryuji blinked.

Warren wondered just how many hits Ryuji had taken to the head to be this thickheaded and dense. Even Warren could see that Kotonoha had a thing for Ryuji. It was so obvious by the way they always spent their time together and that Kotonoha would insist on studying with him. Ryuji's grades had pretty much improved since the tutoring sessions. Kotonoha even got Ryuji interested in reading…

So how could someone as smart as Ryuji possibly NOT realize that his best friend was crushing on him?

"Ryuji, just think about it. Who do you think Kotonoha might like to date one day?" Warren asked. He received a blank expression. "Never mind…"

* * *

Kotonoha was in her room and sitting at her desk with a book open. Of course, her eyes weren't on her book but at the cell phone in her hand. On the screen was a picture of her and Ryuji together. She smiled and gave the screen a kiss. "Ryuji-kun…" On her desk was also a framed picture of both her and Ryuji together. She gave the picture a smile and said, "Ryuji-kun, I do hope you're thinking of me tonight."

* * *

Ryuji was at his desk with his chin on the tabletop and arms hanging at his side. Homework was just so damn boring. His eyes then glanced at a framed photograph of him and Kotonoha. He picked it up and stood up straight to gaze at it. The picture had been taken during the summer festival that he'd gone to with Kotonoha and Kokoro. He was dressed casually as the two girls were dressed in yukata. Kotonoha was in a white one and Kokoro was in a red one.

He'd taken the picture with a digital camera. There were several other pictures too of them together.

When Makoto had asked Kotonoha out, Ryuji felt angry and upset. He wanted to beat Makoto up for even thinking it and didn't even know why. This just confused and gave Ryuji a headache.

'_What hints?_' he asked himself mentally. As he was trying to think of an answer, he heard a knock at the door. "Come in!"

Warren opened the door and said, "Suit up. There's an Orphenoch on the attack."

Ryuji let out a sigh. Off to work.

* * *

Sekai sighed as she waited for the train. She had a shift at the Radish to work, but her mind was elsewhere. She was so sure that Kotonoha wasn't seeing anyone nor was she interested in anyone. Apparently her information was wrong though. There was someone she was interested in. Well, in a way she was relieved since it meant that she now had a shot at Makoto herself.

As she was waiting, she heard a shuffling noise. Glancing she saw it was a homeless man who was getting up. She wanted to ignore him, but he was coming closer.

"Hey," he grunted as he stumbled closer. "Want to see a trick?"

"Trick?" Sekai mumbled.

The homeless man grinned before a weird gray pattern appeared on his face. Then, to her horror, his body began to shift and mutate. He emerged in a gray body that looked like it had spikes running up the arms in a crisscross pattern. The head was concealed by a cage of spikes and organic material. The monster chuckled darkly as it eyed Sekai, who was gaping in horror.

The Cactus Orphenoch would enjoy this one.

He marched towards the terrified girl but all of a sudden there was the roar of an engine. The Cactus Imagin turned around in time to receive a wheel in the face as Faiz rammed into him. The bike soared through the air and landed before Faiz spun the bike around to face the Orphenoch. Sekai gaped at the Rider's appearance but he ignored her. He got off his bike and charged into battle.

The Cactus Orphenoch roared and swiped at Faiz who blocked and then retaliated with a punch. The Orphenoch struck again but his fist was caught and Faiz thrust his hand forward in a palm strike. He then smashed his fist across the Orphenoch's face before sending him crashing against one of the support pillars with a kick.

Sekai, meanwhile, couldn't believe what she was seeing and then realized she had the chance to catch Faiz on camera. She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out her camera phone. She aimed the lens and got ready to take a picture as Faiz and the Orphenoch battled.

The Orphenoch was sent tumbling along the floor by another kick from Faiz. The Rider reached to his belt and pulled out the Mission Memory as he took the camera off his belt. He slipped the Mission Memory over the lens.

"**Ready.**"

A handle swung out from under the camera and he strapped it onto his right fist. He then reached down and opened up the cell phone and pressed Enter.

"**Exceed Charge.**"

The Cactus Orphenoch got up and charged at Faiz, right as the energy from his belt transferred into the Faiz Shot. Faiz stood in place and waited for the Orphenoch to come at him. Once in range, Faiz charged right back. He dodged the first two strikes and then threw his fist into the Orphenoch.

**SMASH!**

The Orphenoch was hit by the Faiz Shot and stumbled backwards. Blue flames then erupted from his body before he exploded and crumbled into dust. A glowing Phi symbol appeared in the air before it faded.

Satisfied that his enemy was now just dust Faiz turned to get back to his bike. Sekai wasn't around. She must've fled. Good. He didn't need to worry about her. He then went to his bike and got on before riding off.

* * *

"Setsuna, check this out!" announced Sekai the next morning in class. Setsuna, her best friend, was in her seat and reading the morning paper.

"What?" Setsuna responded and Sekai showed the pictures she got last night.

"I saw him! I saw the Masked Rider!" Sekai proclaimed loudly.

* * *

Ryuji sneezed as he and Kotonoha entered their classroom.

"What's wrong?" Kotonoha asked her friend.

"I dunno. Maybe I caught a cold," he answered.

* * *

Sekai had become one of the most sought after individuals in the school. Rumor spread around that she had actual pictures of the Masked Rider fighting a monster. There wasn't a time when she wasn't being mobbed by students. Of course, Makoto was next to her and Taisuke kept stalking her in hopes of getting copies for herself.

Sekai wasn't one to turn down the chance to being popular, but this was getting to be a little much.

During lunch, Sekai managed to escape to the roof with Makoto and met up with Ryuji and Kotonoha who were having their lunch there. She showed them the pictures.

Ryuji stared at the pictures and responded, "So, you finally got photographic evidence."

"That's right!" Sekai proclaimed proudly. "I think I'm gonna sell them to a newspaper or something!"

"That is if they believe those pics are authentic," Ryuji pointed out.

"Oh, come on!" Sekai exclaimed, "You can't still be skeptical, can you?"

"It's kinda convenient that you were the only one who got the pictures in the first place," commented Ryuji.

"I have doubts too," Kotonoha added.

"Katsura-san, you too?" Sekai looked towards Makoto. "What do you think, Makoto?"

"Well, these pictures do look real," said Makoto. "Too real."

Sekai groaned. "So, even these pictures won't be good enough for the newspapers?"

"You could just sell them to a tabloid," suggested Ryuji.

"But I really wanted them to be in a real newspaper, not the tabloids," Sekai frowned.

"Or you could just put them on a blog," added Kotonoha.

"A blog?" Sekai looked thoughtful. "Hey, that's not a bad idea! Thanks, Katsura-san!"

Sekai knew just who to ask.

* * *

"You want me to put this up on MY blog?" Setsuna asked her best friend.

"Yes, because I know you love this kind of stuff," Sekai stated. Setsuna had a blog on the internet which was focused on the weird, the unexplained, and conspiracy theories.

"Well, of course I do," said Setsuna. "But I thought you'd rather want them in a newspaper than online."

"Well, I've been told that these pictures won't exactly be considered legitimate," said Sekai, sighing, "But I was hoping for at least some recognition."

"Just upload them into my phone," said Setsuna. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, Setsuna. You're a real pal!" Sekai hugged her friend.

"OK, now stop that."

"Sorry."

* * *

The final bell rang and it was after school. At the shoe lockers, Kotonoha opened up her locker to find not just her shoes but a letter. "What's this?" Kotonoha took it out and examined it. She blushed. "A love letter?"

Ryuji's eyebrow twitched. "A love letter? For you?"

"Yes, it looks like it," said Kotonoha. She opened up the envelope and took the letter out. She skimmed through it.

"So, are you going to respond?" Ryuji asked.

Kotonoha shrugged. "I don't know if I should. It would be impolite to decline…"

"Kotonoha, you better not. What if this guy is a psycho-stalker-rapist?" said Ryuji, worried.

"Well, then I think I'd need my bodyguard, won't I?" said Kotonoha, smiling. She looped her arm around his. "Come on, I'm just joking. I'll meet this guy but I'll turn him down."

"OK," said Ryuji, blushing. "Come on, let's go home."

* * *

Warren had been observing Ryuji and Kotonoha for months and while he was a patient man by nature, even he had his limits. He was particularly frustrated that no progress had occurred between his student and best friend. Now, it was time for…an intervention!

Warren was pacing in front of Ryuji who was sitting on the couch between Warren's two kids, Alex and Tessa. To the twins, Ryuji was like a big brother who they loved so much.

"OK, Ryuji, I want to know if you're either blind or stupid?" Warren began.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ryuji demanded, angered by the insult.

"I'm not insulting you. I just want to know how you don't realize what is going on in front of you!" Warren snapped.

"Hey, I notice tons of stuff!"

"Oh really? You think you're observant?" Warren questioned.

"Yes, I am!"

"So, how come you don't notice when a girl likes you!?" Warren yelled out. Ryuji blinked.

"There a girl who likes me?" Ryuji asked bluntly and Warren facefaulted. His kids giggled.

"OK, let's start with your relationship with Kotonoha," said Warren. "What do you think of her?"

"Well, she's my best friend," said Ryuji.

"Go on…" Warren prompted.

"And she's really intelligent, responsible, kind, and a very nice person," continued Ryuji.

"What else?"

"And she's…cute," said Ryuji. '_Especially when she puts on those reading glasses_.'

'_OK, now we're getting somewhere_,' thought Warren triumphantly. "OK, so you admit that you like her."

"Isn't that obvious?" Ryuji shot back. "She's my best friend. Of course I like her."

"But how much?" Warren asked. "And how much do you think she likes you?"

"Well, I guess we really like each other. We're friends, aren't we?" Ryuji was getting confused and irritated.

"OK, but do you know how Kotonoha feels about you?" Warren asked.

"What do you mean?"

Now Warren was getting frustrated. For months he'd seen the signs and yet Ryuji was unable to see them since he considered Kotonoha as a friend and nothing else. Now it was up to Warren to clarify a few things. "Must I draw you a picture? She invites you over to her house for dinner when her parents are out. She asks you to come over to study. She asks you to train her in self defense and martial arts. She also makes lunch for you." Warren tapped Ryuji's forehead. "Just think about WHY she does all that!"

Ryuji batted Warren's hand away and growled before he did just that. Warren's eye twitched since he could see that Ryuji wasn't getting the answer. Time to yell it out.

"YOU IDIOT! SHE DIGS YOU!!!"

* * *

Ryuji snorted as he lay in bed. Kotonoha was in love with him? That was just ridiculous. They were just friends…and yet, the thought of her loving him didn't exactly seem so unappealing. He did like her but he wasn't sure if it ever went beyond that. Well, he had to admit that she was attractive. She had a nice figure, and a nice smile, and really warm eyes. She was also smart and would help him with his schoolwork. She would just volunteer. He even joined her in the student council to be closer to her and lend his assistance.

Kotonoha was his first friend in the school and his closest one. He didn't have that many friends in school. Well, to be honest, his only friend was Kotonoha and he preferred it that way. He didn't have to divide his attention and neither would she.

Kotonoha would always do nice things for him and not ask for anything in return. She was just content with being…close…to…him…

Wait a sec.

…

…

…

Ryuji sat up quickly, eyes wide, "Oh my god!!!"

* * *

"Good, NOW he gets it," said Warren. He then sensed something. "Another one?"

* * *

The woman was running for her life. She'd just been out on a date with when all of a sudden this…thing showed up and turned her date to dust. So, with self-preservation instincts guiding her, she made tracks quickly. Unfortunately, the thing was still chasing her.

The Snail Orphenoch was definitely not a slow one. He was fast on its feet and he intended to kill her…but not before having some fun with her. He wouldn't be much fun if he couldn't hear her screams as he had his sick way with her.

"_Oh, come on, baby! Don't run! I promise to make it feel good!_" the Snail Orphenoch crowed.

Suddenly, a figure bedecked in armor landed between the Orphenoch and its prey before a fist met with the monster's face.

The Orphenoch recovered and glared at the interloper. "_Faiz!?_"

Faiz didn't answer and immediately attacked. He struck with punches and kicks, showing no mercy for this rapist/murderer. He absolutely hated them since they took advantage of women for their own sick and selfish desires and pleasure. In Faiz's opinion, rape was punishable by death.

The Snail Orphenoch, now frightened for his life, decided to abandon the battle. However, Faiz was not about to let him leave.

"You can't run," said Faiz.

He reached down to the right side of his belt and pulled out the odd implement that resembled a telescopic flashlight. He reached down to his phone and slipped out the Mission Memory before slipping it into a slot on the flashlight.

"**Ready."**

The flashlight extended and Faiz got down on one knee to connect it to a port on his right leg. He opened up the phone and pushed the Enter button.

"**Exceed Charge."**

The energy traveled through the photon stream from his belt and into his right leg. He looked over to see the Orphenoch running and then he jumped up. Faiz he brought his legs together, the sole of his right boot glowing, before he went into a flying kick position with his left leg tucked in and the right leg extended. The Faiz Pointer fired a line of red energy which then expanded into a cone-like energy construct that was aimed at the fleeing Orphenoch. The Rider then dropped into the cone, which began spinning like a drill and drilling right through the Orphenoch. Faiz himself turned into energy and went right through the monster along with the cone.

"_GAAAHHHHHH!!_" the Orphenoch screamed as the energy passed through him. The attack didn't leave any superficial damage, but the energy was dealing a lethal blow down to the cellular level

Faiz reappeared behind the Orphenoch in a crouch. The Orphenoch was enveloped in an explosion of blue flames with a red Phi symbol hovering behind him. The Orphenoch finally crumbled into dust.

Faiz turned to glare at the pile of dust which had been the rapist Orphenoch a moment ago. He would have spit on it if he could, but the helmet prevented that. So, he just walked up to the ashen pile and kicked it, making it blow off in the wind. Growling, he headed back to his bike and mounted it. He then roared off into the distance, leaving a stunned woman behind.

Miyako Serizawa gulped as she watched the fight and the Masked Rider ride away. She cursed herself for not having a camera, but she had been on a date and didn't feel the need to carry one. Of course, now she knew that the talk about gray monsters and a Masked Rider who was fighting them was real.

However, she got one up on other witnesses. She got the Rider's name.

"Faiz, huh?" she pondered. "Bet the boss would love to hear that."

* * *

At school, Ryuji pretty much couldn't look at Kotonoha without blushing. The idea of her being in love with him and his own feelings for her made him break out in a cold sweat with his heart pounding in her chest. He couldn't say two words to her without stuttering and this worried her. When it got really bad she took him to the nurse's office to get some rest.

He was pretty much like that all day until the end of school. He asked her to meet him on the roof.

"Ryuji-kun, what's wrong?" Kotonoha asked her friend as they stood atop the school's rooftop.

Ryuji sighed and said, "I'm not good with words Kotonoha, so I'm just going to be really blunt. I do hope you can excuse me and forgive me for what I am about to do."

She blinked but gasped when he grabbed her shoulders and then pulled her over as he leaned down to capture her lips. She went stiff before she relaxed and her eyelids slid close. Ryuji then felt it as she kissed him back and the first thought that popped in his head was how sweet her lips tasted. He then broke the kiss but Kotonoha moaned in protest.

"Was that what you wanted?" Ryuji asked. Kotonoha seemed dazed. "Kotonoha?"

"Sugoi…" said Kotonoha. Her knees felt like jelly and looked ready to give away. He helped her over to the bench and they sat down. "What took you so long?"

"I guess that means that you really do like me, huh?" Ryuji asked awkwardly. "But how long have you had feelings for me?"

"I've always loved you, Ryuji-kun," she said honestly. "Didn't you notice the hints?"

"No, sorry, but I had it all laid out in front of me to help me figure it out," he said, chuckling.

"That's good. I was afraid that you'd never notice it," said Kotonoha, relieved.

"I just need to ask one thing."

"Alright."

"Why me?" Ryuji asked her.

* * *

Kamen Rider Chrome: This is the first chap of my AU Kamen Rider/School Days story. I sure hope you enjoy this because it took me awhile to think about what direction I wanted it to take. It's a 'what if' story, basically.


	2. 333 Delta

One night, Faiz was fighting an Orphenoch atop the school roof. He didn't know what this Orphenoch wanted nor did he care. It was his job to eliminate them. If they were threatening human lives, then he was there to put a stop to them once and for all.

The Orphenoch he was fighting had a head resembling a mushroom. As ridiculous as the Mushroom Orphenoch appeared, that didn't make it any less dangerous. The Orphenoch fought like a boxer and one punch sent Faiz staggering into the guard fence.

"You bastard, you're making me late for a dinner date at my girl's place," said Faiz angrily as he pushed himself off the fence.

The Orphenoch charged at Faiz in response only to receive a punch to the face. Faiz then followed up with several knee strikes to its gut before kicking his foe backwards. He then decided to finish the fight and slipped the Mission Memory out of his phone and into the Faiz Pointer.

"**Ready**."

The Orphenoch charged at Faiz who was attaching the Faiz Pointer to his leg. Faiz leapt over the Orphenoch and opened up his phone belt buckle to press Enter.

"**Exceed Charge**."

Once Faiz landed, he looked up to see the Mushroom Orphenoch turning around to attack him again. The Rider jumped up and threw his leg out to fire a red beam which expanded into a cone, the tip pointed at the Orphenoch's chest to immobilize it. He then dove into the drill, turning into energy as the energy drill bore through the Orphenoch.

The drill went right through and Faiz reappeared behind the Orphenoch, landing in a crutch. The Mushroom Orphenoch turned rigid before blue flames erupted from its body and it exploded, its body crumbling into dust.

Faiz popped his neck from side to side and walked off. His phone then rang and he pulled it to flip it open. "Kotonoha?" He placed it against his ear. "Hello?"

"_Where are you? I've been waiting for you. Are you alright?_" his best friend/girlfriend asked from the other end.

"Sorry, Kotonoha, but I was held up by something. I'll be right there," Faiz said apologetically.

"_Well, hurry up, alright? Dinner will get cold._"

"I'll be there," said Faiz. "Bye."

"_Bye, Ryuji-kun._"

Faiz pressed the end call button and in a flash of red light his armor vanished. He stretched and said, "Beauty awaits."

* * *

**SCHOOL DAYS: 555**

* * *

"_A second chance?" Ifrit repeated. _

"_That's right. You're part of Ryuki so whether you want to admit it or not you're both alike," said Warren._

_Ifrit snorted in disgust. "Yeah, right."_

"_I actually asked Ryuki and he's also ready to give you a second chance," added Warren._

"_OK, I get that, but what will I get and what will I have to do?" Ifrit asked._

"_How about your own body?"_

_Now Ifrit was interested. "Tell me more."_

_Warren smiled. He now had Ifrit biting on his bait._

* * *

"So, you and Kotonoha are an official couple now," Warren commented as he and Ryuji walked to class. Ryuji was carrying a stack of papers with him.

"That's right," Ryuji nodded. "By the way…I never thanked you for opening my eyes. So, thanks a lot for that."

"Hey, someone had to open up those eyes of yours and get it through your thick skull," Warren joked "Just promise to take care of her. She loves you, y'know."

"I can't see why," Ryuji replied uncertainly.

"Well, you are her best friend," Warren pointed out. "That means you know each other."

"All she knows is what I let her now. She doesn't know everything about me. I might freak her out."

"Worry about that later," Warren advised. "For now just treat her right."

Ryuji smiled. "Oh, I intend to."

When Ryuji and Warren came into class, all eyes were on them. Actually, all eyes were on Ryuji. Since he and Kotonoha became official, they promised to keep it a secret from their classmates since they didn't want any of them to make a big deal out of it. Of course, seeing as Otome and her posse were surrounding Kotonoha, he knew they must've convinced her to tell and now the whole class knew.

"Great…" Ryuji groaned sarcastically.

"Sorry, Ryuji-kun," Kotonoha apologized. "They made me tell."

"So, it's true then," said Otome. "You and Katsura are…"

"Dating, yeah," Ryuji confirmed, "And it's none of your business, Katou."

"Hey, I'm happy for you both. We all knew you liked each other for months now. I mean, you're both very close," Otome continued.

"People were betting, weren't they?" Ryuji deadpanned.

"Yup, and I won!" Otome boasted. "So, thanks a bunch, Hasuma. You just helped this girl finance her next shopping spree."

"Joy…" Ryuji rolled his eyes.

"OK, fun time's over!" called Warren. "To your seats, kids. Today we're gonna have a pop quiz!"

Everyone groaned.

* * *

"Hey, check this out!" said Taisuke as he held up the latest edition of the Sakakino Star magazine. "They got a name for the Masked Rider!" He opened it up for them to the article. It was written by Miyako Serizawa.

"Faiz?" Sekai quirked an eyebrow. "What kind of name is Faiz?"

"Did they make it up or something?" Makoto questioned.

"No." Taisuke shook his head. "The reporter here said that she was nearly killed by one of those grey monsters when the Rider saved her. She heard the monster say the Rider's name."

"But Faiz? What does that mean?" Sekai asked.

* * *

During the break between classes, Ryuji spoke, "You know, we never actually went on a date, have we?"

"No, I don't think we have," said Kotonoha. They had hung out together before but a date was something else.

"OK, so what about this Sunday, at noon? I'll pick you up at your place," Ryuji suggested.

"Sure, that sounds great," answered Kotonoha, blushing.

* * *

After school there was another student council meeting. Ryuji was at Kotonoha's side as usual and took notes during the meeting since he didn't have anything to contribute. Though many criticised the way he dressed (he never wore the school blazer but a bomber jacket), they didn't complain since he was good at his job of doing the required paperwork as Kotonoha's assistant.

After the meeting, Ryuji yawned as he and Kotonoha walked out of the building together. "That was boring…" Ryuji said.

"You could barely stay awake while taking notes," Kotonoha replied with a giggle.

"Yeah, but I managed to get most of it down," he said as he held up his notebook. It was good to have for reference.

"Well, the school festival is important," Kotonoha mentioned. "We need to organize it the best we can."

"Yeah, you're right."

They reached the spot where his bike was parked and Ryuji handed his girlfriend his spare helmet. Actually, he helped her strap it on and she smiled as she felt his hands touching her skin. He put on his riding gloves and helmet before helping her onto the bike. He mounted the vehicle and she wrapped her arms around his waist. Ryuji had always been Kotonoha's ride home but this time he wanted to take her someplace else.

"Hey, wanna take a detour? There's this spot I wanna show you," said Ryuji.

"What spot?"

"It's a spot where I go when I want some peace and quiet, away from the city. Also, the view ain't half bad. I thought I might share it with you."

"Why now? Why not before?" she asked curiously.

"Well, I guess I never thought of it before," aid Ryuji apologetically. "Sorry."

"That's okay. I know we're best friends but we do have our own private things. I'm just glad you're sharing this with me now."

Ryuji smiled before he pushed the visor down over his face. They then sped off school grounds.

They rode for a quarter hour before they reached the spot. It was outside of the city. When they stopped, Kotonoha marvelled at the beauty. "Wow…"

"Yeah, I like to come here to train. The atmosphere helps me commune with nature," he told her. There were a lot of trees and bushes with flowers. Also, a small lake.

"It's beautiful," she admitted.

"Yes, it is, I thought it was time to share it with you." He then pointed ahead. "Now, watch as the sun sets."

* * *

"You're back late," said Warren as Ryuji came in.

"I wanted to show Kotonoha something," he answered.

"Well, you're just in time. Rae's got dinner ready."

"Great, I'm starving."

* * *

"So, you two are dating now?" Ryuji asked Makoto and Sekai as the four of them met up on the roof the next day to have lunch together. Kotonoha packed a basket of food for her and Ryuji since she knew how much of an appetite he had. She always made extra and had been doing it since the day they met and became best friends.

Makoto blushed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, that's right…"

"It happened after I tried to set Makoto here up with Katsura-san," explained Sekai. "I kissed him at the train station."

"So, she made the first move, huh?" Ryuji teased.

"Well, I'm happy for you both," said Kotonoha, smiling.

"Hey, have you heard the news about the Masked Rider? They got a name now. He's called Faiz," said Sekai.

Ryuji nearly choked on his food and coughed. He took a large sip of tea to wash down the food stuck in his throat before beating his chest.

"Ryuji-kun, are you okay?" Kotonoha said in worry.

"No, I'm fine," said Ryuji. "Where did you hear this, Saionji?"

"It's in the Sakakino Star magazine. Apparently, one of their reporters was rescued by Faiz and she heard the monster say the name," said Sekai.

"Are you sure it's true?" Kotonoha asked sceptically. "Maybe they made it up."

"Maybe, but 'Masked Rider Faiz' does sound cool, doesn't it?" Sekai stated.

"Yeah, if he was real," said Ryuji.

"You really don't believe he's real, do you?" Makoto asked.

"I believe in what I can see," said Ryuji.

"Yes, me too," added Kotonoha. "It just sounds too fantastic to believe, sorry."

"Well, mark my words that you two are gonna be believers one day," said Sekai.

"As if," Ryuji snorted.

"Anyway, congratulations on becoming an item," said Sekai. "You two are made for each other."

Ryuji and Kotonoha blushed at Sekai's praise. While Makoto was upset that the girl he'd had a crush on was seeing someone else, being with Sekai made him feel better.

* * *

Kotonoha was waiting for the train since Ryuji had to run some errands for his guardian that evening. She regretted not being able to ride home with him, but that was too bad. She would get another chance tomorrow.

As she was waiting, a man in a long coat and was shirtless with studded gloves and a silver necklace walked up to her. He seemed a little scary, but had a smile on his face.

"Excuse me," he spoke in a friendly manner. "I'm looking for someone in this district. His name's Ryuji Hasuma, do you know him?"

"Yes I do," Kotonoha nodded. "He's my boyfriend."

"Is he now?" the man asked, surprised. "Well, I guess I got lucky then."

Lucky? Kotonoha was about to ask when she felt something hit her in the back of the head. After that, she was out like a light.

* * *

Ryuji was out running some errands when his phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and flipped it open. He saw Kotonoha's name. "Wonder why she's calling me?" He placed it against his ear. "Hello?"

"_Hello, Faiz_."

Ryuji stiffened. "Who is this?" Someone had Kotonoha's cell phone.

"_Oh, just someone who has your girlfriend. She's real cutie, isn't she?_"

Ryuji stiffened. Someone had Kotonoha. This guy could be lying, but he couldn't take that chance. "Bastard, where are you!?" Ryuji demanded.

"_Temper, temper, Faiz. Just follow these instructions and I promise that your girlfriend will be alright_."

"What do you want?" Ryuji asked.

"_Nothing much. Just that fancy belt of yours_."

* * *

"A warehouse," Ryuji muttered. "How cliché." Gripped in his hand was the briefcase that held the Faiz Gear. Whoever had taken Kotonoha knew about it. This was a hostage situation and the ransom was the Faiz Gear. Sure, giving the enemy a powerful weapon was never a good idea, but Ryuji had little choice in the matter.

He walked into the warehouse and called out, "OK, I got what you wanted! Where's Kotonoha!?"

"Look up," the voice said and Ryuji did. His eyes widened when he saw Kotonoha suspended from the ceiling. She was tied up and hanging by several ropes. She was also unconscious.

"Kotonoha!" Ryuji stepped forward.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Faiz," the voice warned.

"Hey, show yourself!" Ryuji demanded.

"Put the briefcase down and slide it over to the middle of the floor." Ryuji put down the briefcase and kicked it. It slid along the floor several feet away from him.

"OK, you got the belt! Now let Kotonoha go!"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Faiz!"

The kidnapper jumped out of his hiding place, revealing himself to be a Mantis Orphenoch. Ryuji growled. A double-cross.

The Mantis Orphenoch said, "_You see, our job is to kill you too! Come out, boys!_"

Half a dozen Orphenochs stepped out of their hiding places as well. They resembled insects as well. A Moth Orphenoch, an Ant Orphenoch, a Dragonfly Orphenoch, a Fly Orphenoch, a Mosquito Orphenoch and a Wasp Orphenoch.

"Guess you got this all planned out, huh?" Ryuji asked as he saw the Orphenoch surround him.

"_That's right, Faiz_," said the Mantis Orphenoch as he took hold of the briefcase. "_Now that we have your toy, we don't need you anymore. But don't worry, we'll be sending that girl to where we'll be sending you._"

The Orphenochs attacked and Ryuji fought back. He threw punches and kicks at them, sending them staggering back. They knew he would be defiant, but they never expected him to be this stubborn.

"_What are you waiting for!? He's just a human!_" the Mantis Orphenoch shouted to his men.

"Actually, you gotta get your stories straight!" said Ryuji as he grinned. His body morphed, shocking the Orphenochs.

"_You're an Orphenoch too!?_" the Mantis Orphenoch cried in shock.

"_That's right_," the Ifrit Orphenoch replied. "_Didn't expect that, did you?_" He clawed at the Orphenochs surrounding him, roaring out as he attacked them savagely.

"_You traitor!_" the Mantis Orphenoch screamed. He looked up to where Kotonoha was hanging and smirked. "_This will teach you!_" He jumped up and slashed at the ropes with his scythe-like claws. Kotonoha then fell to the ground.

"_NO!_" the Ifrit Orphenoch roared but the other Orphenochs were in his way.

Suddenly, out of the darkness, Warren jumped up and caught Kotonoha before he landed on the floor. "Hey, Ryuji!"

"_Warren_!" the Ifrit Orphenoch exclaimed.

"Good thing I was in the area," stated Warren as he put Kotonoha down gently.

"_Who the hell are you!?_" the Mantis Orphenoch demanded.

"Me? I'm his parole officer," said Warren as he gestured towards Ryuji/Ifrit Orphenoch. He pulled open his coat to reveal a hi-tech looking grey belt with a delta symbol on the front. Attached to the side was a digital camcorder. He then pulled out a device resembling a gun's grip but with an antenna like a walkie-talkie. He held it up to his mouth. "Henshin," he spoke into the device.

"**Standing By**."

He then attached it to the camcorder.

"**Complete.**"

White energy streams then stretched out all over his body and made a pattern before there was a flash of light. The Orphenochs all covered their eyes from the bright flash. When the light subsided, they were now looking at Masked Rider Delta.

The entire armoured suit was black with the white lines decorating it in an intricate pattern. The shoulders were broad and wing-like and the helmet had a pair of orange eyes. It had antennae too like Faiz's suit.

With a swift movement of his hand, Delta took hold of his Delta Blaster and spoke into it, "Fire!"

"**Burst Mode.**"

He aimed and opened fire upon the Mantis Orphenoch. The Orphenoch staggered backwards from the shots. He was forced to let go of the briefcase holding the Faiz Gear. Delta then removed the Mission Memory from his belt and slipped it into his Delta Blaster. The barrels extended.

"**Ready.**" He raised the Delta Blaster up to his mouth.

"Kick!" Delta commanded.

"**Exceed Charge**."

He aimed the gun at the Mantis Orphenoch and fired. The blast took the shape of a cone which immobilised the Orphenoch. Delta then leapt up and extended one leg as he fell into the cone. The cone drilled right through the Orphenoch as Delta turned into energy and reappeared behind the Orphenoch. The Mantis Orphenoch exploded and crumbled to dust as a delta symbol hovered in the air and faded.

Delta then shot the briefcase open and picked up the Faiz Gear. "Hey, Ryuji! Catch!" He tossed the belt upwards and the Ifrit Orphenoch leapt up to catch it. When he touched the ground he was back in human form.

The rest of the insect-like Orphenochs were in a panic. Their boss had just been beaten and now they were next.

Ryuji strapped on the belt. "Let me take down these bozos myself," said Ryuji as he dialled in the transformation code into his phone.

"Be my guest," said Delta. "I'll take care of Kotonoha until you're done."

"Thanks." Ryuji pressed Enter and closed the phone.

"**Standing By.**"

He closed the phone and called out, "Henshin!" before slamming it into his belt.

"**Complete**."

Red lines spread all over his body and in a flash of crimson light he was donned in a suit of powered armor. Its main colouring was black with a silver chestplate. The bodysuit and armor sported the same red lines which had appeared on his body prior to the transformation. Around his forearms were metal bands and the same bands were around his lower legs. A port was set on his right leg. His fingertips were also covered in armor. The shoulders were rounded and his helmet sported a large pair of yellow eyes and a pair of antennae.

He was now Masked Rider Faiz.

Faiz cracked his knuckles and charged at the Orphenochs as Delta watched.

Faiz was violently paying them back for the rough treatment he'd received earlier. "OK, you assholes! You're gonna have the first taste of this!" He got some distance between himself and the Orphenochs and slipped the Mission Memory into his Faiz Pointer before attaching it to his leg.

"**Ready.**"

Of course, that wasn't all. On his left wrist was a watch and it also had a Mission Memory resembling his own accept in red and trimmed in silver. He slid it out and slid it onto the Faiz Phone.

"**Complete**."

The red photon streams on his suit flashed before turning silver and then his chestplate split open and relocated to his shoulders to reveal a red core and circuitry on his chest. The yellow eyes also turned to red.

The Orphenoch, seeing the change, were not intimidated. They charged at him.

Big mistake.

Faiz opened up the phone and pressed Enter.

"**Exceed Charge**."

He then pressed a button on the watch to activate it.

"**Start Up.**"

Faiz suddenly vanished from the Orphenochs' sight. They looked around for their opponent, wondering where the Rider had disappeared to. However, they would not be getting the answer as several red energy cones appeared above them before they dropped down and impaled them. The Orphenochs howled out before they exploded and crumbled to dust.

"**Time Out.**"

"**Deformation.**"

Faiz reappeared and his suit shifted back to its default setting. He removed the phone from his belt and pressed End Call. In a flash of red light the suit disappeared.

Warren had already gotten out of his Delta suit and carrying Kotonoha in his arms. He walked over to Ryuji and passed the girl over to him.

"Get her home safe," Warren said.

"I intend to," said Ryuji.

* * *

When Kotonoha came to, the first thing she saw was Ryuji's concerned face. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked. Her first response was to gasp and wrap her arms around him.

"You saved me!" she yelled out.

"Yeah, I did," he told her. He held her to him. Both were on a bench and Ryuji sat with her, waiting for her to wake up. They pulled away from each other.

"So, how did you save me?" Kotonoha asked.

"Oh, I just went in and started kicking ass," said Ryuji. "They then ran off like cowards."

"Are you hurt?" Kotonoha asked. She noticed a scratch on his cheek. "Oh my! You have a scratch!"

"Hey, compared to those assholes I got off easy," he told her. He then noted her serious expression. "Kotonoha?"

"What did those men want?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I guess they wanted to get even with me," said Ryuji.

"Why?" Kotonoha asked. He let out a sigh.

"Because of something that happened a long time ago, Kotonoha. Let's just say I was a really bad kid who hung out with the wrong crowd."

Kotonoha realised what he meant. "You were in a gang." He nodded.

"Yeah, and we did all sorts of stuff like harassing people, vandalism, and getting into fights," said Ryuji. "Of course, one night the cops got the drop on us and I was sent to a juvenile detention centre. I did time there. A year, actually."

Kotonoha never knew this. He'd never told her. While she was upset that he kept this a secret from her, she understood why he did. It was something from his past that he didn't want to remember.

"Then what happened?" Kotonoha asked.

"Warren-sensei happened," Ryuji said. "He gave me a second chance. A new life. Sure, I was stubborn so he had to show me tough love. I learnt my lesson hard but I guess it was worth it." He asked, "Are you mad?"

"No, I'm not. I understand why you kept this from me. You didn't want to scare me off," said Kotonoha.

"Kotonoha, I left that lifestyle a LONG time ago," said Ryuji. "Whoever I was back then isn't who I am now."

Kotonoha smiled and said, "Ryuji-kun is still Ryuji-kun to me. You just have a bad past but that's all it is, the past. The Ryuji-kun I know is the one I care about. I don't care about who you used to be."

"Thanks, Kotonoha," he said, smiling.

Ryuji then realised that he'd nearly lost Kotonoha. Maybe it was time for her to learn the truth. But then how would she react? Was now a right time for it?

He also realised how much she meant to him and if he ever lost her like he nearly did, he'd be devastated and he would probably revert into the monster he used to be. Also, he wouldn't be able to tell her how he felt about her. She obviously loved him but he never actually told her the words.

'_Now or never._' He said, "I love you." The girl gasped at the confession and tears began to well up in her eyes. "Kotonoha?"

She suddenly hugged him and said, "Do you know how long I've waited for you to say that?"

"I guess as long as you've waited for me to find out that you loved me too," Ryuji spoke.

"That's right!" She was happy that he'd reciprocated her feelings, but to hear those words brought joy to her. With that, she pulled back and then leaned forward to kiss him.

Ryuji didn't resist and instead deepened the kiss as he kissed her right back.

* * *

After her article about 'Masked Rider Faiz', Miyako had been trying to find more sources on the mysterious hero's activities. So far she'd only gotten some eyewitness accounts but no photographic evidence.

As she was surfing the net, she came upon a blog. Out of boredom she clicked on the link and her eyes widened. On the screen were pictures of Faiz fighting one of those strange grey monsters.

She scrolled down and found the name of the one who'd taken the picture.

"Sekai Saionji, huh? Well, Saionji-san, you're going to help me become famous," Miyako mused. She would need to find Sekai and interview her, and maybe ask for her pictures as well.

* * *

The moon hung high over the city, but most people were doing their own thing, ignoring the sight. However, there was one person who was standing over it all. No one in the city save for a bare few knew who he was. However, there were Orphenochs in the city and that was reason enough for him to be there.

Around this stranger's waist was a silver belt that had a camera strapped to it on one side with a pair of yellow binoculars on the back and a X-shaped weapon on the opposite side. It was a similar configuration to belts worn by Ryuji and Warren. This one even had a name connected to it.

Kaixa.

* * *

**Kamen Rider Chrome: So, Warren is Delta? Well, he would claim the strongest of the three as his own. So, if Ryuji's Faiz and Warren is Delta, who is Kaixa? Guess we'll find out soon.**


	3. 913 Kaixa

Ryuji had arrived at Kotonoha's house to pick her up for their date.

Date…it still sounded weird but sounded right as well. It still felt strange to be taking the girl whom until recently was considered his best friend. They decided to explore their new relationship and decided that a date was in order.

Ryuji rang the doorbell and spoke into the intercom, "This is Ryuji. Can someone please open the gate?" The gate slid open and he smiled. "Thanks."

He rolled his bike in alongside him and the gate closed behind him. He then kicked down the stand and went to the door. He gave the door a knock and shortly afterwards it opened up to reveal Kokoro. "Hey, Kokoro-chan!"

"Ryuji-niichan!" Kotonoha's little sister jumped up and Ryuji caught her as she hugged him around the neck. He nearly fell backwards.

"So, is your sister ready?" Ryuji asked.

"Oh, she is. Want to come in first?" Kokoro invited.

Ryuji accepted the invitation and walked in with Kokoro who dragged him into the living room. He sat down on the couch as Kokoro said, "I'll call Onee-chan." Kokoro shouted, "Onee-chan, your boyfriend is here!"

"Coming, Kokoro-chan!" was heard from upstairs. Ryuji heard footsteps coming down and then when he saw Kotonoha his jaw nearly dropped.

Now, he always thought Kotonoha was cute, but she looked absolutely lovely this time. She was dressed casually, wearing a pink knee length skirt, a white blouse, and a pink jacket. She also had a handbag slung over her shoulder. Ryuji's nose detected some perfume and he also noted that Kotonoha had some makeup on her face.

"Onee-chan, you look so pretty!" complimented Kokoro.

Kotonoha knew her little sister would say that and then asked Ryuji, "So, how do I look?"

Ryuji uttered, "Wow…" Kotonoha blushed. She'd rendered her new boyfriend speechless.

"You don't look too bad yourself," said Kotonoha. He was dressed in a t-shirt, jeans, and his favorite bomber jacket.

Ryuji got off the couch and said, "Well, guess we can go now, huh?"

She took his hand, "Yes, let's go." He then escorted her out the door.

Kokoro smiled as she watched the two leave. It was about time too that those two started dating. Kokoro knew that the two loved each other. It'd been obvious from the start.

* * *

**SCHOOL DAYS: 555**

* * *

Their first stop was to have lunch at a café. Once the couple sat down a waiter immediately came to take their order.

"So, what will the happy couple like to have?" the waiter said cheerily.

Being referred to as a couple was something Ryuji and Kotonoha hadn't gotten used to yet. They'd only become official a few days ago and this was their first date.

"Well…what do you recommend?" Kotonoha asked as she looked at the menu.

"Well, for you, I could recommend our Couple's Special," the waiter said. The Couple's Special was actually a large bowl of ice cream covered in hot fudge with sprinkles and heart shaped gummies and topped with a cherry. "I'd save that for dessert, though."

Ryuji gulped a little. Why did he feel so nervous? He'd hung out with Kotonoha before so why was he feeling anxious? "Um…can you come back when we're ready to order**?**"

"Sure," the waiter said before walking off.

Kotonoha let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. Even Ryuji was trying to calm down the pounding of his heart.

Maybe some light conversation would help.

"So…how have you been?" Ryuji asked.

"I'm fine," said Kotonoha.

"So, have you done anything interesting lately?"

"Oh, just reading. How about you?" She absently twirled a lock of hair around her finger.

"Just training and stuff…" he answered.

"Oh, OK."

And then…awkward silence.

Ryuji couldn't stand awkward silences and just said it, "This is stupid."

"W-what do you mean?" Kotonoha replied, feeling scared. Did he not want to date her?

"This tension and awkwardness," he clarified, "It's stupid. I mean we've hung out before but as soon as we call it a date things get weird."

Kotonoha agreed. "I guess neither of us was prepared for this change in our relationship."

"Guess not," Ryuji nodded.

"So, do we call this off or…"

"No," he cut her off. "I really want to give this a chance, Kotonoha. We can't turn back now. I really want this to work. So let's forget that this is a date and just hang out and have fun."

Kotonoha beamed, "OK!"

"Yo, waiter! We're ready to order!"

* * *

At the movie theatre, he and Kotonoha stood in line in front of the box office. "So, what do you want to watch?"

Most girls would go for something romantic, but Kotonoha wasn't like most girls and Ryuji knew what her taste in movies was.

She loved horror movies. Despite her appearance she loved watching horror movies. She would often invite him over to watch one at her place.

Of course, that had been her attempt to get close to him. When a scary part occurred, she would latch onto him and then he would hold her to protect her.

Ryuji never really caught on back then and he probably hadn't.

"Let's watch that one," Kotonoha said as she pointed at a zombie movie poster.

* * *

The two sat down together and watched the movie. Ryuji had gotten them a big bag of popcorn and a couple of sodas. The two would share the popcorn as they watched the movie.

Horror movies didn't scare Ryuji. He'd seen scarier things in reality. As for Kotonoha, she wasn't afraid of such things either. She didn't believe in such things and considered movies like this as just entertainment.

When a scary part happened, Kotonoha latched onto Ryuji, squealing. Just as she predicted he wrapped his arm around her protectively. She ignored the rest of the movie and cuddled against him.

* * *

After the movie the couple decided to take a walk around together, hand in hand. Ryuji saw her shivering and immediately took off his shirt and put it over her shoulders. She looked up at him in surprise. "You looked a little cold there," he explained.

"Thank you," she said, smiling as she hugged his arm and leaned against him, pressing her breasts against his arm. He felt the soft mounds and blushed but didn't comment. He just wanted to enjoy how nice it felt to be with her.

'_I must be the luckiest guy in the world_,' thought Ryuji.

* * *

It was later that evening when they finally got back to her place. The date had been amazing and she really wanted to have another one like it. Even Ryuji had fun, once the initial awkwardness wore off.

He dropped her off at her place but the girl twiddled her fingers. "What?" Ryuji asked.

"Would you like to stay over for dinner?" Kotonoha asked him.

Ryuji smiled. He'd never declined her offers before and wouldn't start now. "Sure."

* * *

When Ryuji came home to Warren's apartment, he was whistling cheerfully. Warren cocked an eyebrow at his young friend and asked, "Why are you so happy?"

"Oh, just had a very good day," said Ryuji. He then walked into his room.

"Guess he had a really great date," said Rachel.

"It seems that way. This will just make him fight harder now," Warren replied.

* * *

"Guys! Guys! Guys!" Sekai squealed as she met the others for lunch. "You won't believe who contacted me last night!"

"Who?" asked Makoto.

"Her name's Miyako Serizawa and she's a reporter for the Sakakino Star!" Sekai squealed. "She's the one who was attacked and she heard Faiz's name! She wants to use my photos in her next article and she hopes to pay for them!"

"Wow," Kotonoha blinked. "That's very nice Saionji-san. Are you sure it is legitimate though? She could be someone hoping to steal your photos."

"That's why my mother called Sakakino Star to be sure that it was the real deal and she was who she said she was," Sekai explained with a bright grin. "And it is! She's a real reporter there! Can you believe it? MY photos!"

"I can't believe it," Ryuji muttered. So much for keeping out of the press. The online blogs about Faiz were bad enough. Now, he was going to be officially revealed to the public via the media.

* * *

"Looks like I can just kiss anonymity goodbye," muttered Ryuji as he joined Warren once again in the faculty room.

"Wow, pessimistic much?" joked Warren. "You're treating this like the end of the world."

"Warren, the only reason I agreed was so I could fight in secret. No one was meant to know Faiz existed. Faiz was only meant to be an urban legend. These pictures are going to cause a riot."

"Well, that's the price of fame," Warren commented.

* * *

"You seem awfully moody," said Kotonoha as she and Ryuji stopped at the park after school. They got some ice cream and sat down at a bench.

"Just this whole deal about Faiz, that's all," said Ryuji. Now people were referring to the Masked Rider as Faiz since it was his official moniker.

"Because you've been proven wrong?" Kotonoha inquired.

"I guess," he answered.

"Well, you don't have to be upset. That's life. Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches," said Kotonoha.

Ryuji chuckled. "I must be rubbing off on you. 'Roll with the punches'? That sounds like something I would say." He licked his ice cream. Chocolate always tasted good. Kotonoha was having strawberry. Having ice cream was sweet, but having it with someone you loved just made it sweeter.

"Oh, I almost forgot," said Kotonoha as she realized something. "This weekend we're all going to the pool."

"We?"

"Saionji-san and Itou-san," Kotonoha elaborated. "They're bringing friends too. You want to come along?"

"Heh, why not?" Ryuji shrugged. "I didn't have any plans this weekend anyway."

Kotonoha leaned in and pecked his lips. He licked his lips. '_Um…strawberry_.'

"Aw, isn't this sweet?" spoke a man dressed up like a biker as he eyed the couple. "A couple on a date."

Ryuji tensed up as did Kotonoha. Was this someone from Ryuji's past?

"What do you want?" Ryuji asked. The biker then answered by morphing into his true form. Kotonoha shrieked and dropped her ice cream as she and Ryuji bolted up from the bench.

The Eagle Orphenoch was covered in grey feathers and had razor sharp talons. His head was human-like and covered by a helmet resembling an eagle. Hanging from his back like a cape was a pair of wings.

Up until now, Kotonoha had never believed in the existence of these monsters, but now she was looking at one.

"Kotonoha, stay back!" Ryuji warned as the Eagle Orphenoch eyed both of them evilly. The Orphenoch would either kill them or try to sire them. Either way it was bad.

"Ryuji-kun!" Kotonoha cried out. Was her boyfriend really going to fight one of these creatures**?**

"_Why fight? You both will love being Orphenochs like me. Well, if you survive, at least_," the Orphenoch said menacingly.

Before Ryuji could react, someone decided to jump in. The strange figure was clad in a dark suit of armor with yellow lines and an X on their chest. The helmet also had a purple visor with yellow antennae. Kotonoha gasped.

"Masked Rider!" While she didn't believe in the rumors, she had heard of the Rider's description.

Ryuji knew who this was and murmured, "Kaixa."

Kaixa glared at the Orphenoch before charging at him with fists swinging. The fists slammed into the Orphenoch and sent him staggering backwards. Then, Kaixa used a side kick to send the Orphenoch crashing into a trashcan.

"_Damn you…_" The Orphenoch spread its wings and took to the air. "_This will teach you!_" The Orphenoch dove down towards Kaixa but the Rider didn't appear fazed. Instead, Kaixa opened the cell phone belt buckle and pressed Enter.

"**Exceed Charge**."

The yellow energy transferred from the belt and down the right leg, into an instrument resembling a pair of binoculars connected to the right leg. It would appear that the item had been connected earlier.

Kaixa swung the leg and a yellow cone of energy flew out and connected with the Orphenoch. The Eagle Orphenoch was unable to avoid and was pinned in mid-air. Kaixa then launched into the air, extending both legs before flying into the energy drill which spun and bore into the Orphenoch. The drill went right through and the Orphenoch exploded as Kaixa landed on the ground.

Kotonoha was stunned. Up until now she had denied the existence of the Rider and the Orphenochs but now she had no choice but believe in their existence. Ryuji just stared at Kaixa who looked back at them before vanishing into thin air.

'_Kaixa…who are you?_'

* * *

After dropping Kotonoha off at her place, once he managed to calm her down, Ryuji was on his way back to his own home. He stopped when he saw a man standing in his way. Ryuji's eyes narrowed as he removed his helmet.

The man before him then morphed and transformed into an Orphenoch resembling a bull with large horns and large fists despite the size of the arms. Chains hung from the fists too and the Ox Orphenoch had broad shoulders. Ryuji sighed. "Guess I gotta take care of you, huh?" He got off his bike, strapping on the Faiz Gear before dialing in the transformation code.

"**Standing By.**"

"Henshin!"

"**Complete**."

* * *

From afar, the Kaixa Gear's holder watched as Ryuji transformed and fought with the Ox Orphenoch. They were wondering if they should intervene or just stay back and watch.

* * *

The Ox Orphenoch bashed his fist against Faiz's chest and sent the Rider flying into a lamppost, denting the metal pole. The impact caused the belt to fall off and in that instant the suit disappeared.

"Kuso…" Ryuji groaned as he pushed himself back up to his feet. The Orphenoch was marching towards him.

"Hey, need help?" Ryuji then looked up and saw his sister, Kat, sitting on the wall.

"Kat?" Ryuji spoke in surprise. Kat jumped off the wall. She was dressed in a black tank top with blue jeans, combat boots and black gloves. Her hair was long and black like his. Her eyes were blood red. She was also holding a briefcase.

"Heh, this Orphenoch is giving you trouble? Che, you're weak," she mocked. She opened up the briefcase in her hand and pulled out the Kaixa Gear. She strapped on the belt and flipped the cell phone open. "Sit back and relax. Let your big sister handle this." She dialed 9-1-3 and finally pressed Enter.

"**Standing By.**"

She closed the phone and called out, "Henshin!" before slamming the phone into the empty slot in front.

"**Complete.**"

Yellow streams of photon energy rose up from the belt, creating a pattern on the Kat's body. As the pattern completed itself, the girl's body was covered in yellow light. When it died down, she was donned in something different. It was mainly a black bodysuit with the yellow lines running over it. Her chest was covered in grey armor with yellow lines running across it in an X, with the edges pointing out from his shoulders to make shoulder pads. Her helmet was mainly black with a purple visor that was separated by a yellow Chi symbol.

"Kaixa!?" Ryuji gawked.

"Heh heh," said Kaixa as she hopped up and down on her feet like a boxer. "Come on, Orphenoch. Let's dance!" She removed the X-shaped device, her Kaixa Blaygun, from the belt.

The Orphenoch bellowed and charged. Kaixa seemed undisturbed by it as she removed the Kaixa Mission Memory from her belt and slipped it into a slot at the bottom of her weapon.

"**Ready."**

The bottom of his weapon produced a yellow beam, making it a sword, before slashing at the Ox Orphenoch. The Orphenoch, of course, managed to land a hit upon the Rider.

The beast roared in pain as he hit the ground, his leg and flank revealing a flaming blue gash in it, making movement extremely painful and difficult. Kaixa seemed to be fine, even though some sparks fired from her shoulder from the exchange. Showing no pain,Kaixa then opened her phone and pressed the enter button.

"**Exceed Charge."**

A surge of yellow energy traveled up from Kaixa's belt, up her back, down her arm, and into the Blaygun, turning the blade bright yellow. Kaixa then raised her weapon up, with the blade pointing down, and then pulled on the point pointing at her. Pulling a hidden trigger, the section closed and a shot of light fired through the air. It hit the Ox Orphenoch easily and covered him in a mesh of netting made of light. Kaixa then raised her blade and charged at the Ox Orphenoch with the weapon ready. Her speed picked up and a yellow X appeared in front of her before she turned to energy and passed through the X and the Orphenoch before the netting vanished.

"WOOOOAAARRGGGHHHH!!" the Orphenoch roared as Kaixa reappeared behind him. The beast suddenly exploded in blue flames with a large yellow Chi symbol appearing behind him. The Ox Orphenoch then crumbled into grey dust.

Kaixa sighed and let her sword blade retract into her Blaygun. She then reached down and opened the phone. She pressed the End Call button and in a flash of yellow light her armor vanished.

"Too easy," Kat snickered. She then felt a hand on her shoulder. "Hm?"

"We need to talk," said Ryuji.

"I know. But not right here, OK? How about your guardian's place?" Kat requested.

"Fine," he agreed.

* * *

Once at Warren's place, the three Riders sat in the living room. Ryuji wanted to know how Kat got the Kaixa Gear and how she could use it.

"I thought the Kaixa Gear could only be used by Orphenochs," said Ryuji.

"Warren didn't tell you?" questioned Kat.

"Tell me what?" Ryuji turned to his guardian.

"The Faiz, Kaixa and Delta Gears have been reprogrammed," Warren explained. "They don't require the user to be an Orphenoch to be used. However, the Gears have been programmed so that they can only work with one person."

"So, the Faiz Gear can only work with me," realized Ryuji.

"Yup, because we don't want an Orphenoch or anyone else getting it," said Warren.

"My Kaixa Gear was tricky to reprogram, but they managed to get around that fail safe without messing it up the Gear. Now, I'm Kaixa."

"So, why are you here?" Ryuji asked.

Kat sighed and confessed, "This is my parole."

"Nani?" Ryuji blinked.

"I did something, got caught, and made a deal so I could go free," Kat summarized.

"Pissed off the wrong people, huh?" Ryuji smirked.

"Stupid Kenny…" muttered Kat.

"And now I'm her parole officer," said Warren. "She'll be living here with us."

"Auntie Kat!" came a call as Tessa and Alex ran into the room, tackling their "aunt".

"Aw, Tessa-chan! Alex-chan!" Kat purred as she hugged the twins.

"Well, at least this means you don't have to always ask Kotonoha to babysit," said Ryuji with a chuckle.

"Kotonoha? Oh, you mean that girl you were with, huh?" Kat smirked. "Don't think I didn't notice how protective of her you were being Ryuji-chan!"

"Urusei!" Ryuji huffed, his face turning red. "It's none of your business!"

"Awww, but I'm the older sister," Kat laughed. "I get to tease you and do all sorts of embarrassing things in front of my little brother's girlfriend. That's the rules you know."

"So does that mean as the bratty little brother I can tell Rose and Cathy all the embarrassing little stories about you growing up?" asked Ryuji with a grin.

"NO!" Kat frowned. "Only older siblings can do that!"

Warren chuckled as he watched the two siblings connect. It seemed that things were going to be more interesting in the future.

* * *

"EHHHHHH?!?!" Sekai cried out as the friends met up for lunch. "Another Masked Rider?!"

"It's true!" Kotonoha nodded. "This one is different from Faiz though. This one had yellow lines on his body and purple eyes. He also had a strange X-shaped weapon. Still, he destroyed that monster with something attached to his leg."

Ryuji stifled the chuckle as he heard Kotonoha refer to Kaixa as a 'he'. The armor was a little bulky and tended to hide gender while wearing it. Unless someone actually took the time to compare body shape between Faiz and Kaixa, they wouldn't be able to tell that Kaixa was a woman.

Of course, Kat might use that as an excuse to casually flirt with cute girls she would save as Kaixa.

Warren was also arranging for Kat to be enrolled in Sakakino High. In about a week or so, she would be a new student her. She was reluctant at first but it was either school or jail time. She chose the former.

"And I thought Faiz was the only one," Sekai blinked. She wondered if she could somehow get some pictures of the new Rider's appearance. "So, you're both believers now, I take it."

"Difficult to deny what you've seen once we experienced it for ourselves," admitted Kotonoha. "I apologize for doubting you."

"That's okay, Katsura-san."

"So, what else is new?" Makoto asked.

"Well, my sister just showed up," Ryuji said.

"Your sister?" Kotonoha asked. Ryuji had told her a bit of his family, mainly that he had a brother and two sisters.

"Yup, Kat," Ryuji nodded. "She's gonna be coming to school here in a week."

"Well, when she comes we should welcome her!" said Sekai. "Hey, how about we have her come to the pool with us?"

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Kotonoha agreed. "We can get to know her better."

Ryuji then asked, "So, Saionji, did you get paid for those pictures?"

"Sure did, and the money is being put to good use," said Sekai proudly.

"Shopping spree?" Ryuji guessed.

"Yup," Sekai nodded. "Hey, why don't you guys come with us later to shop for some bathing suits?"

Ryuji and Makoto blushed. Bathing suits? That meant…

'_Kotonoha in a bikini_…' Ryuji's grin widened. All those curves and skin for him to see.

While Kotonoha and Ryuji were close, she never actually showed him her bathing suit. During the summer she had gone on a holiday with her family so he missed her over the summer. She did come back for the festival, which they spent together with Kokoro, having fun. He just missed seeing her in a bathing suit.

"Come on, Katsura-san! It'll be fun! We have our boyfriends here to act as critics," Sekai said playfully.

Kotonoha twiddled her fingers and said, "Oh, OK…"

"Or…we could surprise you boys!" said Sekai as she changed his mind. She winked. "We'll knock your socks off, won't we, Katsura-san?"

* * *

"So, that means I'm invited to this pool thing?" Kat asked.

"Yea, just promise no funny business," Ryuji warned.

"Oh, don't worry…" Kat grinned. "I'll be too busy admiring the view."

'_Of course, you pervert_,' Ryuji thought with a scowl. His sister would no doubt be checking out the girls. She was a lesbian after all.

"And I bet that girlfriend of yours is gonna look good in a suit too. What is she, a D-cup?" Kat teased.

"Shut up!" he snapped with a blush.

"Well, guess you'll introduce me to them, right?" Kat inquired.

"Of course I will. As annoying as you are, you're still family."

"Aw…how sweet."

* * *

The gang was going to meet at the pool on Sunday. Sekai was going to bring along her friends Hikari and Setsuna. Nanami couldn't make it. Makoto brought along his friend Taisuke. Ryuji would be bringing Kotonoha along on his Autovajin.

The bike was parked and Ryuji helped his girlfriend off the vehicle. As she took off her helmet, she asked, "So, when is your sister coming?"

Ryuji pointed ahead, "There she is right now." Kotonoha looked and gaped.

"That's one big bike," she stated.

Kat's vehicle of choice was the Side Basher, the Kaixa Gear's support vehicle. It was a motorcycle with a sidecar It was mainly black with yellow trim. It also had large exhaust pipes. Driving it was Kat who wore a leather jacket and a black helmet with an opaque black visor. The vehicle rolled over to where the Autovajin was parked and she removed her helmet, putting it inside the sidecar. "Yo!" she greeted.

"Kotonoha, meet my sister Kat," Ryuji introduced.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you," Kotonoha greeted, bowing.

"Nice to meet you too," Kat greeted mutually. She took out a duffel bag and said, "So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Wait for the others first," said Ryuji.

"Aw…"

"Saionji-san, Itou-san, over here!" Kotonoha waved to her friends. With Sekai were Makoto and their friends. Hikari was a brunette with her hair tied in loops, and Setsuna was a short girl with short black hair and a red hair ribbon. The other boy with Makoto was tall with light brown hair that was slightly spiky.

"Well, looks like the rumors of you having friends are true," Kat teased. Ryuji just ignored her comment.

Once the group was together, introductions were made. Taisuke, of course, laid eyes on Kotonoha and instantly fell in love. However, he recoiled quickly when he saw Ryuji glaring at him. Makoto explained that both Ryuji and Kotonoha were dating and that Ryuji was very protective of her.

"OK, guys, this is my sister, Kat," Ryuji introduced.

"Hi!" Kat waved with a large grin.

"That's one nice bike," Sekai complimented.

"Big too," added Hikari.

"Thanks," Kat said as she pat the seat affectionately. "It's my pride and joy." She rubbed her hands together eagerly, "So…why don't we all suit up and get ready to take a dip in the pool?"

Nobody rejected that idea.

* * *

"Does he always look this stupid?" asked Ryuji as he and Makoto exited the changing room to see Taisuke, in a red pair of Speedos, drooling at all the bikini-clad women. Makoto was wearing green shorts as Ryuji wore a pair of black ones.

"He just appreciates the female form," stated Makoto in Taisuke's defense.

"Well, he better keep his eyes to himself if he knows what's good for him."

"Wonder what's taking the girls?" Makoto asked.

* * *

"I can't believe you did that!" Hikari cried as she held her arms protectively over her chest as she, Kat and the other girls exited their changing room.

"You act like I hurt you," Kat shrugged.

"You groped my breasts!" Hikari cried out. She was telling the truth too. As soon as the girls removed their tops, Kat managed to grope all four of them in rapid succession. She had an unapologetic grin on her face.

"Hey, you should be happy that you have a nice handful," Kat smiled. "Any boyfriend you get is going to have a nice night when you decide to have him go all the way."

"You're rather…perverted," Setsuna idly commented as she readjusted her swimsuit top, feeling a little odd.

"Oh yeah, I know," Kat grinned. "I'm brash and perverted so that just means that I'm not afraid to do what I want." She gave Kotonoha a thumbs up, "Kotonoha wins, though!"

Kotonoha blushed at the comment since Kat had squeezed her breasts repeatedly too. No one had ever touched her there, boy or girl. It was embarrassing and yet Kat could just laugh about it.

Sekai once again felt jealous of Kotonoha's cup-size. In the changing room, Setsuna had attempted to use a pump to make Sekai's breasts look bigger. Kat just called that cheating.

Hikari was dressed in an orange bikini with some frills on the top. Sekai wore a pink bikini. Kotonoha's bikini was green with a white trim and the top barely contained her breasts. Setsuna wore bikini bottoms and a tank top. Kat, of course, wore a black tube top with a pair of skin tight shorts. On the front of the top was a yellow 'X' resembling Kaixa's Chi symbol.

As soon as the girls arrived, Taisuke's face broke in a large grin as she saw the girls. "WOAH!"

WHAP!

"Ow!" Taisuke cringed as he squatted down.

"Eyes off my girl," said Ryuji and yet he himself couldn't look away. Kotonoha looked so sexy right now.

"Ryuji-kun, do you like it?" Kotonoha asked.

"H-hai," Ryuji stuttered. "It's very nice."

"OK, are we going to just stand here or have fun?" Kat scoffed. Without warning, she dove into the pool.

Ryuji noticed the looks some of the girls were giving Kat and stated, "She groped you." They blushed. "Why am I not surprised?" He shook his head.

"Ano, Ryuji-kun," began Kotonoha. "Could you teach me how to swim?"

Ryuji smiled. "Sure."

"I'm gonna go to the diving boards. Makoto, are you coming?" said Sekai.

"Sure!" Makoto smiled.

Taisuke saw both couples walk off and then felt Hikari tap his shoulder. "Sawanaga-san, let's go on the water slide."

"OK," Taisuke mumbled.

* * *

The day went well really. Taisuke got smacked around by women for his stupid flirting techniques. Hikari was the only one who seemed to be entranced by him. Everyone else thought he was being annoying. Of course, Kat was the one who smacked him around the most since she was wearing one of the better swimsuits in their group and she wasn't shy about her body like some of the other girls were.

Besides batting around Taisuke, Kat chatted with the group, with them getting more comfortable around her after her groping spree. However, she did flirt with some girls who were sunning themselves. This just made Taisuke break out in a nosebleed.

Makoto and Sekai vanished somewhere. Maybe it was to make out. Ryuji didn't care too much. His eyes were trained on Kotonoha as he helped her learn how to swim. It was rather slow, but it was fun. He especially loved the sight of seeing her in a swimsuit.

She slipped and her breasts pressed against his chest. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she supported herself against him. In response, he wrapped his arms around her. She smiled warmly and closed her eyes, holding him close. While both were used to being physically intimate, as they had exchanged hugs as friends, but now that they were dating, the hugs became more special.

"I love you," she whispered into his ear. She pulled back and then leaned forward to kiss his lips.

Ryuji was glad for this. He was happy now and it was thanks to Warren for giving him this chance.

The gang soon got hungry and decided to have a bite to eat. They sat together at a rectangular table and ordered their food. Ryuji and Kat had huge orders and everyone who didn't know of their eating habits gawked at the amount.

"That's a huge portion," stated Hikari as she watched Kat eat a chicken wing. She also had a few hot dogs, burgers, and fries.

Ryuji, who was eating the same thing, ended up with some sauce on the side of his mouth. Kotonoha wiped it off with a napkin. Ryuji stared as she smiled back at him.

Taisuke, of course, was depressed. Kotonoha was a cute girl. Too bad for him that she was already dating Ryuji, who had been her best friend since the start of the school year. Sekai, on the other hand, was dating Makoto. Was he doomed to be alone?

Sekai knew that her friend Hikari had a thing for Taisuke. Unfortunately, the doofus was oblivious. Maybe Hikari just needed to be more assertive when it came to snagging her dream guy. Though, why would she like a lecherous idiot like Taisuke anyway? Guess love was blind.

"So, you will be going to our school?" Setsuna asked Kat.

"Yeah, definitely," nodded Kat. "Of course, I'm not sure if I'm gonna wear the uniform. Maybe I can alter it to fit my style."

"Well, Hasuma always wears that jacket of his," said Sekai.

"I just prefer to stand out," admitted Ryuji.

Kotonoha recalled the feeling of the jacket on her. The fake fur around the collar and cuffs were soft. Ryuji had even given her one of his jackets. He had plenty back home. The jacket, of course, she would wear in bed since she heard it was like being embraced by her own lover. She blushed as the thought came up. How embarrassing.

"Alright," Setsuna nodded. "So, any thoughts on the Masked Riders and these monsters?"

Sekai had told Setsuna about the new Rider after Kotonoha told her about him. Kotonoha had also given a description. It was not Faiz, but a new one. No name had been connected but just like Faiz this new Rider's name would soon be out.

"Well, I think they're cool," said Kat. "The Riders, I mean. Too bad nobody knows who they are." She grinned knowingly at Ryuji.

* * *

After few more hours of fun, they had to sadly depart from the pool. It had been fun, but all good things must come to an end.

"Hey, Kotonoha, wanna ride my wheels?" Kat offered as she gestured to her bike's sidecar.

"No, I think I'd ride with Ryuji-kun," said Kotonoha as she strapped on her helmet. "Thank you, anyway."

Kat pouted and then responded, "You don't know what you're missing."

"And we're glad for that," Ryuji quipped.

Kat snorted and mounted her bike before driving off.

* * *

After dropping off Kotonoha at her place, Ryuji got a call from Warren. Another Orphenoch was on the attack. When Ryuji got to the spot, he was already too late as he saw the remains of several police officers strewn all over the ground amongst the uniforms. Looking up, Ryuji spotted the Orphenoch. The Orphenoch resembled a lion, with sharp claws and sharp blades attached to the wrists. The tail wrapped around the waist like a belt and the hair was like a mane. In the Orphenoch's mouth were razor sharp teeth.

"And I thought I could get home and sleep," said Ryuji as he dialed in the transformation code.

"**Standing By**."

"Henshin!" He slammed the phone into the belt.

"**Complete**."

In a flash of red light, which caught the Orphenoch's attention, Ryuji had transformed into Faiz. The Rider charged at the Orphenoch and began to pummel the monster with his fists and feet. However, the Orphenoch managed to block Faiz's attacks with its forearms before striking with its claws.

Faiz was sent flying by an upward swipe from the Lion Orphenoch as sparks were ripped off from his chest by the claws. He tumbled along the ground but stopped when his back hit the side of a sidecar.

"Is this one giving you trouble, Ryuji?" Kat asked as she looked down at Faiz. She was sitting sideways on the Side Basher's seat. "Need help?"

"I'm fine!" Faiz grunted as he got back up, one hand on the sidecar. "Don't get in my way!"

"I don't intend to, but I'm bored. So, do you mind the assist?" Kat offered as she flipped open her Kaixa Phone. "I'm waiting for an answer…"

"Ugh, fine!" The Lion Orphenoch went charging for them and Faiz slipped his Mission Memory into his bike's handlebar before drawing out the Faiz Edge.

"**Ready.**"

"Just don't get in the way," Faiz warned.

Kat shrugged and entered the code 9-1-3 before pressing Enter. "No promises."

"**Standing By**."

She closed her Kaixa Phone and pushed herself off her bike's seat. "Henshin!" She slammed the phone into the Kaixa Driver's slot.

"**Complete**."

In a flash of yellow light she was donned in her dark colored Kaixa suit. "OK, time to get down to business." She took the Blaygun off her belt and charged forward.

Faiz was fighting the Lion Orphenoch using the Faiz Edge, countering the claw swipes with his sword slashes. Several shots bombarded the Orphenoch and sent it staggering in pain as the sparks erupted off its chest. Faiz looked towards Kaixa who just yawned lazily.

"Let's end this together," said Kaixa as she slipped the Mission Memory into the Blaygun.

"**Ready.**"

The yellow sol glass blade erected as Kaixa pointed the weapon down.

"Fine," snorted Faiz as he opened up his phone. Kaixa did the same. Both pressed Enter.

"**Exceed Charge**."

"**Exceed Charge**."

Kaixa cocked her weapon and then fired a blast of energy which collided with the Lion Orphenoch. The energy wrapped around the Orphenoch in the form of a net. As for Faiz, he swung his sword forwards. The energy ripped along the ground and then ended under the Orphenoch, creating an anti-gravity field that forced the Orphenoch afloat.

Both Riders then charged forward. Kaixa was the fastest as the glowing yellow X in front of her formed and she became energy which flew through it and then sliced through the Orphenoch. Faiz then finished the Orphenoch with several slashes of his sword.

The Orphenoch exploded in an azure blaze and crumbled to dust, just as Kaixa reappeared.

"So, are you up for some chili cheese fries?" Kaixa asked.

"Do you know a place that sells?" Faiz asked.

"Just hop on your ride and follow me. Trust me on this. When it comes to food I know my stuff."

* * *

ZK Chromedragozoid: And so Kaixa/Kat has been introduced. Personality-wise, she's still the same.


	4. Monkeying Around

It was late at night at Sakakino High but it was anything but quiet. On this very hour there was a large fight going on in the schoolyard. Three Masked Riders, known as Faiz, Delta and Kaixa, were dealing with a trio of Orphenochs who'd appeared suddenly. Why they focused their attacks on the school was a mystery, but there was definitely a reason. Of course, the Riders were merely dealing with the Orphenochs without any other reason save for attacking a teacher. Apparently, the teacher had expelled these students and they had returned to get their revenge. They had become Orphenochs to do so.

The Orphenoch were an Elephant Orphenoch, a Gorilla Orphenoch and a Shark Orphenoch. Faiz was dealing with the Elephant Orphenoch while Delta and Kaixa dealt with the Gorilla and Shark, respectively.

Faiz ducked under a swing before kicking the Elephant Orphenoch backwards. "So, tomorrow you'll be a student, huh, Kat?"

"Sure am," said Kaixa proudly as she used an uppercut to send the Gorilla Orphenoch falling onto its rear. "Tomorrow morning I'll be an official student."

"May the school remain standing after your first day," said Faiz as he grappled with the Elephant Orphenoch.

"Ha, ha, funny…" Kaixa retorted sarcastically as she drew her Blaygun and fired upon the Gorilla Orphenoch. "You should do stand up."

"Well, in any case, this means I can keep an eye on both of you," said Delta as he dodged the Shark Orphenoch's trident. "Because, keeping an eye on both of you when you're separate is hard enough!" He caught the trident under his arm and drew his Delta Blaster. "Fire!"

"**Burst Mode."**

He shot several blasts at the Shark Orphenoch.

"Don't worry about us, Warren. We can take care of ourselves," said Faiz as he smashed his fist across the Elephant Orphenoch's face.

"**Ready."**

"That's right," agreed Kaixa once her yellow Sol Glass blade extended. "We're big kids." She slashed at the Gorilla Orphenoch repeatedly.

"And yet you're both been assigned to me," said Delta as he tossed the trident over his shoulder. He slipped the Mission Memory out of his belt and into his Delta Blaster.

"**Ready."**

"Kick!" he spoke into his Delta Blaster.

"**Exceed Charge."**

"For now," said Kaixa as she opened up her phone and pressed Enter.

"**Exceed Charge."**

Delta fired an energy drill upon the Shark Orphenoch as Kaixa fired a binding energy net upon the Gorilla Orphenoch. The two Riders then executed their finishers as Kaixa rushed through her opponent as Delta jumped up to execute a drop kick as the energy drill bore through the Orphenoch. Once they finished executing their finishers, the Orphenochs' bodies erupted with blue flames before crumbling to dust.

Faiz received a punch that sent him sailing but then he flipped his body and rebounded off the wall to launch a flying kick that sent the Elephant Orphenoch flying and falling onto the ground. He took his Faiz Pointer off his belt and slipped in the Mission Memory.

"**Ready."**

"Just don't be late," advised Faiz as he attached the Faiz Pointer to his leg and opened up his phone to press Enter.

"**Exceed Charge."**

Faiz then leapt up and stretched out both his legs to fire a red photon beam that soon erected into a drill. The tip of the drill was pressing down on the Orphenoch's chest. Faiz then executed a flying kick and fell into the drill as it spun its way through the Orphenoch with the Rider turning into energy. The drill bore completely through and Faiz reappeared behind the Orphenoch. Faiz then walked off as the Orphenoch exploded and collapsed into grey dust.

"These Orphenochs are way too easy to beat," snorted Faiz.

"Yeah, I may like a fight but these aren't as challenging as I would've liked," added Kaixa.

"We're not here to have fun," chided Delta. "We have a job to do."

"Hai, hai, sensei," Faiz and Kaixa nodded.

* * *

**SCHOOL DAYS: 555**

* * *

The following morning at school, a large black and yellow motorbike with a sidecar rolled onto school grounds. The students all gawked at the vehicle and also on the Rider who was wearing a white shirt with the vest undone and without the red bow the girls would wear. She still wore the skirt and socks that came up to her knees. Her shoes were black and made of leather. She also wore a black leather jacket and upon her head she wore a riding helmet with an opaque visor.

The bike came to a stop and she whipped off her helmet to let her hair free. Her crimson eyes focused upon the building and then she stood up upon her seat to yell, "GOOD MORNING, SAKAKINO HIGH!!! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE'S KITTY-KAT!"

Kotonoha just stared as Ryuji palmed his face. "Well, she does make quite an impression," Kotonoha commented.

"You can say that again, Kotonoha," said Ryuji.

Warren looked out the window and sighed. "This is going to be a LONG parole…"

* * *

"Yo! My name's Kat Hasuma, I'm sure you all know my otouto, Ryuji-chan," Kat waved at the front of the classroom. "I like martial arts and eating fish. I hate guys who hit on me, but girls are always welcome!"

The majority of the class sweatdropped at the announcement. Taisuke broke out in a nosebleed as he got the dirty meanings behind Kat's words. Makoto blinked and looked over to Sekai.

"Does that mean she's-?" he began.

"Oh yeah," Sekai nodded. "And darn proud of it."

"Woah," Makoto blushed. A hot girl like her was into other girls? That was pretty darn strange to him.

* * *

"So," Ryuji sighed as the group retired to the roof for lunch. Kat immediately joined them. "How many girls did you grope already?"

Makoto choked on his drink.

"Not too many," Kat sighed. "But gym class is after lunch so I'll easily get my fill!"

"You're such a perv," Ryuji snorted. "You're going to traumatize those poor girls."

"Oh please! Girls grope each other all the time!" Kat snorted. "It's called the boob check. Don't you know anything?"

"Boob check?" Makoto gaped. Sekai gave him a dirty look.

"Well, all I do is-" Kat began but was interrupted.

"Please, don't go into detail," said Ryuji in disgust. "We're all eating here."

"Fine, fine, whatever," Kat waved him off. "Well, so, is there anything exciting in this town that I should know about?"

"Well, we will be having a school festival," said Kotonoha.

"Ooh, sounds fun!" Kat grinned. "Anything else?"

"Well, it depends. Have you ever heard of the Masked Riders?" Sekai asked. Ryuji groaned. "What?"

"OK, I can admit the Riders are real now, but can anyone talk about anything else?" said Ryuji. "The Riders are real and they fight monsters. I get it. Case closed."

"Geez, you sure are a killjoy," frowned Sekai.

"Well, there are more things I wanna talk about and talking about some armored superheroes isn't one of them."

"Masked Riders? You mean that urban legend?" Kat asked.

"Oh, they aren't a legend anymore," said Sekai, smiling. "They are real!"

"OK, cool!" said Kat, grinning. Ryuji knew this was just feeding Kat's ego.

* * *

Both Ryuji and Warren stood facing each other with narrowed eyes and weapons drawn. Only one of them would win this fight. Losing was not an option. One shall stand and one shall fall. They got into their stances and attacked!

"Yargh!" Warren let out.

"Rargh!" Ryuji roared.

However, those weren't battle cries, but in fact cries of pain and discomfort as their skin paled and cold sweat ran down their faces. They were clutching their stomachs.

"We…we can't do this," said Warren, groaning.

"Yeah…if we let go…it's all over…" said Ryuji.

The two were standing in front of the bathroom door. The only bathroom unoccupied. The other bathroom was being used by Kat who was taking a bath and so these two men were fighting over the only one that was vacant. They needed to go and bad.

"So…how do we settle this?" asked Ryuji, groaning as he tried to keep his bowels under control.

"How about…rock…paper…scissors?" struggled Warren.

"OK, let's do it. Rock, paper…"

"Daddy!" the two men heard and looked to see Tessa running towards them. "Daddy!"

"Oh, shit!" Warren grimaced. His daughter was going to tackle hug him. If she did then it'd be all over. He thought quickly and grabbed Ryuji, holding him out in front of him as a human shield, "Ryuji Block!"

"Oi, matte!" Ryuji shouted.

Tessa, when she got close, jumped and rammed head first into Ryuji's gut.

Ryuji then dropped like a sack of potatoes from the hit. The strain had weakened him and now he was passed out on the floor. He twitched for a second.

Warren apologized to Ryuji, "I'm sorry, Ryuji." Tessa looked confused and then remembered she needed to do something. So, she went into the bathroom and closed the door. "Huh?" Warren panicked and began pounding on the door, "Tessa? Tessa? Sweetie, can you open the door? Honey? TESSA!!!"

Meanwhile, Kat was still enjoying her bubble bath without a care in the world, blissfully unaware of Warren and Ryuji's suffering. "Ah…this is the life."

* * *

"Alright, people!" announced Ryuji as he set the box down in front of them upon the teacher's pedestal. "You've all put your suggestions into this box right here for what our attraction will be for the school's Cultural Festival. We will then pick one out from the box. Once we do, I don't want to hear any objections, complaints, protests, arguments or any lip from you guys, OK?"

It was the most fair and impartial way. This way there wouldn't be any complaints since Ryuji would be the one to pick out the suggestion.

Kotonoha stood by his side and added, "Now, once we've picked a suggestion, we'll work hard on it, OK?" She gave Ryuji a wink and he smiled back.

"Alright…" Ryuji rolled up his sleeve and reached into the box through the hole on top and rummaged through the slips of papers with suggestions written on them. Their classmates watched in anticipation as he started to choose. "Hold on, I think I got something…ARGH!!!" He suddenly screamed. This caused everyone to freak out since they hadn't expected him to do that. Suddenly, he burst out in laughter. "Sorry! Sorry! I just really wanted to do that! You should've seen the look on your faces!" Irritated, they began to throw their stationary at him. "Hey, quit it! I'm sorry, OK!" He waved his hands out in front of him to bat away the onslaught.

Kotonoha sweatdropped at her boyfriend's antics and spoke, "I'll do it." That seemed to calm the class down. She rolled back her sleeve and reached inside. She then took out a slip of paper and read from it. "And our event will be…a Haunted House!"

* * *

"We should add more MOE!" announced Kat.

"Moe?" Sekai blinked.

"You know…MOE! You wanna draw in customers, right?" questioned Kat.

"That is our attention," said Setsuna.

"OK, so I got this idea to add to our waitress costumes!" said Kat. "Make them wear cat ears and tails! A catgirl theme! Whaddya say? It will really draw in those moe fanatics!"

Setsuna thought about it. "Hm…it would look good on the waitresses," said Setsuna. "OK, I'll approve on that suggestion."

"Sweet!" Kat grinned. Catgirls everywhere! A dream come true!

* * *

The following morning, Kotonoha went to school alone since Ryuji hadn't shown up to pick her up for school. She took the train instead. When she got to class, she saw her boyfriend stumble into the room, looking exhausted, and holding some papers in his hand. She gasped. "Ryuji-kun!" She was immediately at his side and helping him to his seat. He groaned as he leaned back against the seat. He didn't look like he'd slept at all. "My goodness, what happened to you?"

"This," said Ryuji as he held up the papers. "I was working on the proposal for our class' Haunted House all night. Didn't get any sleep."

"So, how did you get here?" asked Kotonoha.

"My (yawn) guardian gave me a ride," said Ryuji. "He said I was too tired to ride my bike here."

"Well, in the condition you're in it would be too dangerous," said Kotonoha in concern. She took the proposal and looked it over. "You did this for me, didn't you?"

"Sure (yawn) did," he replied as he slept at his desk, using his arms as a pillow.

"You poor dear," said Kotonoha. "You should go to the nurse's office and get some rest," she suggested.

"Thank, but I can handle it," said Ryuji.

"I wasn't asking," she said firmly. Ryuji gulped, knowing it wasn't a good idea to argue with her whenever she used that tone of voice. "As Class Rep I order you to get some rest."

"Fine," he surrendered, "But could you please help me there? I might collapse in the hallway if I went off on my own."

"Sure," she said, "And I'll make sure to take notes for class and pick up your homework assignments. I promise to come see you at lunch." She then eyed his jacket. "Oh, your badge is crooked. Let me fix that."

* * *

"OK, rewind a sec," said Kat, "My brother is the head of the Student Security Squad? How did that happen?" She and Warren were heading to class.

"He didn't tell you?" Warren asked.

"No, he didn't," said Kat. "How did that happen?"

"Well, as the assistant class representative of class 1-4, he has to go to the Student Council meetings. A few months back he was dissatisfied with the Student Disciplinary Committee. He said they were ineffective in handling delinquent students. So, he drew up a proposal and brought it up during a meeting. After he gave them his reasons they had a vote."

"And it got approved," said Kat. "OK, that's amazing."

"Each member has to wear a badge," said Warren. "Here it is." She handed her a badge. It looked like a fist with the letters "SSSS" under it. "That stands for Sakakino Student Security Squad," Warren explained.

"So, I get to beat students up and not get into trouble? Sweet," said Kat.

"Only delinquents who don't get the point," said Warren.

"OK, fine, ruin my fun. So, anyway I need to see him if I want to be a member, huh?"

* * *

"Sir, are you alright?"

"How can we help you?"

"You need water, or anything?"

"How about food?"

Ryuji was in the nurse's office and in bed. Surrounding him were members of the Sakakino Student Security Squad. They wore the badges to prove it. Only a half dozen or so came to see him. They respected him and considered him their idol.

"Can't you people just shut up and leave me alone!?" Ryuji snapped. "I'm trying to sleep!"

"Please, give him space," said Kotonoha.

"Yes, ma'am!" they saluted.

Kotonoha was the de-facto second-in-command of the Student Security Force despite not being an official member. Then again, she did help take command whenever Ryuji wasn't available. Not many students messed with her because of the protection she had ready to deal with the threats.

The SSSS marched out of the nurse's office. Ryuji let out a sigh of relief.

"I owe you," said Ryuji.

"I know, now get some rest, OK?" said Kotonoha. "Here, drink this. I got a couple of sleeping pills to help you rest too."

"Thanks." He took the pills and popped them into his mouth before taking a sip of water. "OK, I'm not feeling-"

THUD!

Snore…

Ryuji was out like a light and sleeping soundly. The girl tucked him in, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and went off back to class. Of course, before she could reach the door, it was suddenly thrown open and Kotonoha recoiled when she saw Kat, coming in, shouting, "RYUJI-CHAN!!! I WANNA JOIN!!!"

"Hush!" Kotonoha said to Kat. "He's sleeping now. He hasn't had any sleep so he's taking a rest."

Kat frowned. She looked over Kotonoha's shoulder and saw her brother fast asleep. A cruel smile formed on her lips as a menacing plan formed in her mind. Kotonoha saw this and immediately knew Kat was up to no good. She shouted, "SSSS, help me!!!"

Almost instantly, several members of the SSSS appeared right behind Kat. "Huh? What do you want?"

Kotonoha informed them, "They are trying to disturb the captain's sleep. Restrain her and take her away!"

"What!?" Kat gawked and was grabbed. "Hey, hands off! Hey!" They began to drag her away. "Lemme go! Hey! You can't do this to me! I'm your leader's sister! Hey!"

Kotonoha let out a sigh of relief and turned to where Ryuji was sleeping. She gave a smile and went over to plant a kiss on his forehead. She whispered, "I love you, Ryuji-kun." He would be awake by lunch time.

* * *

"So, I heard you got busted by the SSSS," said Sekai as she saw Kat sitting in her seat, frowning irritably.

"That's right," Kat huffed. "Lousy, no good flat foots." All she wanted was to join and make it better and they actually dragged her away kicking and screaming. She could've beaten them up but that hadn't been an option since it would land her in trouble. It wasn't like she cared but she was on parole and on thin ice. Plus, Kenzaki would so love to see her put behind bars for comitting assault.

"Well, serves you right," said Hikari, hands on her hips. As much as she liked Kat, she still hadn't forgiven her for groping her at the pool. Well, at least Kat had gotten her retribution, somewhat. "Those SSSS guys are trained to respond to any danger against Hasuma-san and Katsura-san."

"Well, now I don't wanna join," said Kat, crossing her arms. "Are there any clubs I can join?"

"How about the Astronomy Club?" suggested Sekai.

"Stargazing?" Kat cocked an eyebrow. "Pass. It's so boring. No offence, Sekai."

"Well, how about basketball?" suggested Nanami. She had been introduced to Kat before and the two had become good friends Kat. During PE, Kat had demonstrated her athletic prowess.

"Maybe," shrugged Kat. "I'll think about it." She then asked, "So, how's our prep for the fest?"

Setsuna spoke up, "It's looking really well. We've collected money from everyone in class and had someone design the waitress uniforms."

"Will they be cute and include the cat ears and tails for the moe factor?" asked Kat hopefully.

"Yes."

"Sweet!"

* * *

Ryuji woke up for lunch, just as Kotonoha predicted. Then again, maybe the aroma of the homemande lunch she had was what woke him up. She brought a basket along with a thermos filled with tea. Her sandwiches were absolutely to die for.

"So, is everything in class alright without me?" asked Ryuji. Kotonoha was too soft spoken sometimes so he had to be the one to keep the class under control when a teacher wasn't present.

"Well, everyone has been a little noisy," said Kotonoha as she poured Ryuji a cup of tea. "But they are well behaved aside from that."

"I sure hope so," Ryuji said as he took the tea and took a sip. He smiled. The tea she made was good. "So, did anything else happen while I was asleep?"

Kotonoha decided not to mention Kat's noisy entrance earlier. "Oh, nothing."

Ryuji put the cup down on the bedside table and looked to Kotonoha. She stared into his eyes and blushed. Whenever he would look at her like that she just got all weak in the knees.

"You're so beautiful," he said. He had noticed it so many times before but he had never mentioned it before they began dating. She blushed at the compliment. Despite his rough and tough exterior, in private like this he could be really sweet.

Ryuji was actually referring to her beauty in both her appearance and her heart. He really didn't like humans even as he was protecting them as Faiz but meeting Kotonoha made him rethink his opinion. He cared for her. That was a fact.

"I love you," he said tenderly.

"I love you too," Kotonoha replied. She leaned in close, closing her eyes, and so did he. Their lips pressed together into a chaste kiss.

Kotonoha didn't want to rush things and Ryuji understood. He would not force her into doing anything uncomfortable. This was her first relationship and wanted things to run at her own pace. Ryuji would give her time. They were in no rush for anything too physical beyond kissing. Ryuji deepened the kiss, holding her close by her shoulders. They then broke the kiss, eyes gazing deeply at each other as they pressed their foreheads against each other.

'_I will protect you, always_,' swore Ryuji in his mind.

* * *

After lunch, a well rested Ryuji managed to recover his strenght and so sat through the entire second half of the school day. He listened to the teachers' lectures and took notes next to Kotonoha who was happy to have him back in class. When he'd entered and saw the others being noisy, all he had to do was clear his throat and everyone went silent. As head of the SSSS he was respected and feared by the students. Of course he was still approachable and was on good terms with everyone in class. People were just too scared of pissing him off since he had a notorious temper.

His sister, however, was notorious for another reason. In the locker room Kat would grope the girls. This scared most of them away from her but Nanami, Sekai, Setsuna, Sekai and Kotonoha were still friendly with her. They were just more careful whenever they changed.

The final bell rang and so Kat came into class 1-4, yelling, "Ryuji-chan! Kotonoha-chan! Let's go home together!!!"

"You're so noisy," grumbled Ryuji as he picked his ear.

"Sorry, but we can't leave yet," said Kotonoha. "We have a Student Council meeting."

"See you later at home," said Ryuji.

Kat frowned and nodded. "OK." She sighed and then walked along the hallway with her head down. She then bumped into Sekai and Hikari. "Oh?"

"Hey, you free?" asked Sekai.

"Yeah, I guess," shrugged Kat. "Why?"

"Wanna hang out?" Sekai asked.

"OK!" Kat grinned. "But, I'm gonna be taking my bike so I get to carry two people. One can ride behind me and the other can ride in my sidecar."

Kat's bike was huge and even Hikari was shocked by the sheer size of it, especially with the sidecar. Everyone had seen it when Kat first arrived and made her loud introduction when she transferred.

As the two walked to Kat's bike, Sekai asked, "Say, have you thought of what you want to do for the Sports Festival?"

"Anything that gets my blood pumping is okay in my book," said Kat.

"Well, I sure hope we win," said Hikari. "I mean Class 4 has Hasuma and…"

"Hey, don't forget you got a Hasuma here! Kat Hasuma won't lose!" said Kat confidently and loudly.

Hikari and Sekai sweatdropped.

"OK, here it is," said Kat. "Now, I only got one extra helmet so the other one who doesn't have a helmet has to get into the sidecar and strap yourself in. It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

* * *

At a request by Setsuna, Makoto had also joined the Student Council after replacing her previous assistant who'd transferred to another school. The topic of discussion was concerning both the Sports Festival and the Cultural Festival.

The Student Council President was a Senior who had been president for three years running and well respected among his peers. Even Ryuji respected the man. He was calm under pressure and highly intelligent, running the Student Council with kindness.

"Now, Disciplinary Committee Head Hasuma," the President spoke. "How goes the status of the school discipline?"

"Well, there hasn't been any trouble among the students," Ryuji reported. "However, I expect problems to occur during both the Sports Festival and the Cultural Festival. Students can get really rowdy during those times."

"A good observation."

"I recommend increased security for both events," suggested Ryuji.

"Alright. Any new business? No? Well then, meeting adjourned."

* * *

Ryuji didn't bring his bike to school so he ended up taking the train with Kotonoha. Both sat together on one side of the train. The girl had her arm around his and her head against his shoulder.

"You're becoming a well respected member of the student body, you know," said Kotonoha. "A lot of the students look up to you."

"I guess," he shrugged slightly. He didn't really care. The only reason he joined the Student Council was to be with Kotonoha. One thing led to another and he ended up becoming Head of the Student Disciplinary Committee, dubbed the SSSS (Sakakino Student Security Squad). It did keep him busy. Every morning he would have training sessions, teaching the members basic martial arts moves. He also had to deal with paperwork like writing reports and going over the school's rules and regulations. The meetings could get boring sometimes but luckily he had Kotonoha to focus on. "So, my sis really wants to join, huh?"

"That's right," nodded Kotonoha.

"Well, too bad she can't join," Ryuji frowned.

"Why not?" Kotonoha asked curiously.

"Kotonoha, if you knew her like I did you'd understand too," he deadpanned.

"Oh." Kotonoha looked around. The train wasn't crowded and nobody was actually paying attention to them. "Ryuji-kun?"

"Hm?"

"Kiss me."

Ryuji was surprised. She was becoming more open and affectionate with each passing day. She wasn't even afraid of showing affection in such a public setting. "Sure." He leaned over to her and pressed his lips slightly against hers. '_Strawberries_…' That was Kotonoha's flavor. The taste of strawberries was what he enjoyed of these kisses. Strawberry was Ryuji's favorite flavor.

'_Warm and cold…_' thought Kotonoha as they kissed. Ryuji's lips were an odd mix of hot and cold. It was strange, but nice, and unique as well.

They reached their stop, which was Kotonoha's. She lived in the area known as Haramihama. She had a huge house because her family was wealthy.

"Looks like it's our stop," said Ryuji. He didn't like in Haramihama. He lived with Warren and the Smith Family in an apartment building where Makoto also lived, making them neighbors. "Let's go." He gently took her hand and the two walked out of the train together.

"It's really getting late," said Kotonoha as she saw the evening sky. "It'll be dark soon."

"You're right," said Ryuji, a little worried. "Come on, let's get you home."

"Would you like to have dinner with me?" she asked.

"Are you sure?"

"I don't mind. I want to do this. I want to cook for my boyfriend." She smiled warmly.

Ryuji felt a little guilty. While it was true that they were dating but he was still keeping secrets from her. He was Faiz and an Orphenoch, but he could not tell her that. He just couldn't tell her that he was the same as the monsters which appeared.

"I sure hope I don't have to fight tonight," he muttered.

"Excuse me?" she asked him.

"Oh, nothing," he denied, smiling.

* * *

"Hey, Warren? Any Orphenochs to fight tonight?" Kat said as she watched TV with Alex and Tessa. There was an anime on TV about magical cheerleaders fighting female monsters. Tessa kept cheering on the characters on TV.

Warren was reading a book and said, "No, nothing. No alerts."

"Oh." Kat frowned and continued to watch TV. "Hey, where's Ryuji?"

"He's at his girlfriend's place having dinner."

"Oh."

"Shouldn't you be working on your homework?" Warren asked.

"I will," she said. "I'm busy right now."

Warren rolled his eyes.

* * *

Kokoro just loved having Ryuji come over. Their parents were out again so that left the two girls and the boy alone in the house together.

"Ryuji-niichan!" the pre-teen girl grabbed Ryuji by his waist, hugging him.

"Hey, Kokoro-chan," he said, ruffling the girl's hair. She blushed as she gazed up at him adoringly.

Kotonoha removed her shoes and put on her house slippers. "I'll be in the kitchen. Please, make yourself at home, Ryuji-kun."

"OK," nodded Ryuji as Kokoro dragged him inside.

A while back, when Ryuji first came over to her house, Kokoro always teased them about being boyfriend and girlfriend. Now it had come true. Kokoro really liked Ryuji. He was cool. Of course Kokoro also considered the rumored Riders to be cool as well.

Kokoro dragged him into the living room and Ryuji saw the magazine that was open on the table. It was an article about the Masked Riders. Ever since that picture of him as Faiz had shown up, more and more articles of the Riders had appeared.

"So, you like the Riders, huh?" asked Ryuji.

"Yep, they are so cool!" said Kokoro as she beamed.

* * *

Warren sensed something happening. "A disturbance," he muttered. He realized what it was. "Orphenochs."

Kat heard this too and grinned. "Orphenochs you say?" She stood up. "OK, bring them on!" She asked, "Where is it?"

"Sakakino City Public Library," Warren told her and with that she was out the door. "I better call Ryuji too. I sure hope he's not busy."

* * *

Ryuji was having dinner with Kotonoha and Kokoro when his phone rang. He grumbled silently before taking his phone out and flipping it open. He saw the message and scowled.

"What's wrong?" Kotonoha asked as he put down his eating utensils.

"Excuse me, Kotonoha, but I have to go. It's an emergency," he said. He bowed. "I'm sorry." He then dashed towards the door.

Kokoro looked to Kotonoha in confusion. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," said Kotonoha. Ever since she met him, Ryuji always rushed off without an explanation after getting a text message. She never wondered about it before until it became more frequent. Just what was so important that Ryuji had to rush off without telling her? She'd never asked because she didn't want to pry but now she was just as curious as Kokoro.

She would definitely find out what it was that Ryuji was hiding from her. She didn't want to think her best friend and boyfriend was up to something bad, but it was still suspicious. What if…what if he had another girlfriend?

Kotonoha shook her head. '_No, Ryuji-kun would never do that. He loves me. He would never cheat on me. But I know he's hiding something from me. What is it? Why won't he tell me?_'

* * *

Ryuji fastened the Faiz Driver belt around his waist and took out the phone as he ran. He dialled in the henshin code (555) and then closed the phone.

"**Standing By.**"

"Henshin!" Ryuji called as he put it into the empty space in front of the belt.

"**Complete.**"

Red lines appeared all over his body and finally in a flash of red light he was transformed into Faiz. He reached to the Faiz Accel and slipped out the Accel Mission Memory before replacing it into the cover of the Faiz Phone, sliding the Faiz Mission Memory into the Faiz Accel watch for safe keeping.

"**Complete**."

His chestplate split open, exposing the core and circuitry, before the chestplate halves moved to his shoulders. The Photon Streams turned silver as his eyes turned red. He pressed a button on his Faiz Accel.

"Start Up."

In a flash he was a blur as he dashed towards his destination, moving at the speed of sound and leaving a fading trail of after images as he ran

* * *

Kat wore the Kaixa Driver belt and hopped onto the Side Basher. She opened up her phone and entered the henshin code (913).

"**Standing By.**"

"Henshin!" she called as she closed her phone and put it into the belt.

"**Complete.**"

The yellow lines appeared on her body and formed a pattern before a flash of yellow light donned her in the Kaixa armor. She gripped the handlebars of her bike and took off into the streets.

* * *

Faiz reached his destination just as the timer on his Faiz Accel watch went, "Time Out." He then switched the Mission Memories back, changing back to his default form.

"**Deformation.**" He heard the sound of an engine and turned to see Kaixa just arriving on the Side Basher.

"What took you so long?" asked Faiz.

Kaixa dismounted and gave her brother a scornful look. "Not all of us can move at the speed of sound, alright? Now, come on. Let's get in there and dust an Orphenoch."

"Don't get too eager," he warned.

"Why? Afraid I'll get to it first?" she teased.

Faiz turned his attention towards the library's entrance. It was quiet, as were all libraries, but it wasn't even closing time. Usually, there would be some people inside. It was like the place was dead. "It's quiet," he said. "Too quiet."

"No witnesses then." Kaixa went up the steps towards the entrance and pushed the door open. "The door's unlocked. Come on."

Faiz followed her inside. It was odd. There was nobody at the lobby's front desk where people would check out/return books. Faiz went to investigate and frowned when he saw the dust pile in the chair along with the clothes. "An Orphenoch." This confirmed it. He sniffed around. Even with that helmet on him he could still smell it. "It's still here."

The two Riders went upstairs where the books were and saw the remains of the people inside. They saw clothes strewn all over the floor and piles and trails of dust. "Damn," Kaixa frowned. "This one sure didn't waste any time."

"And it's still here," said Faiz. "Waiting."

"Well, let's go get it then!" said Kaixa eagerly.

Faiz saw something moving among the bookshelves and shouted, "There!" He gave chase, along with Kaixa.

"Hey, wait for me!"

The two Riders saw the figure. They saw that it was an Orphenoch with a monkey-like appearance. It had a grey body with tuffs of fur around its ankles and wrists and a tail. It was running from them. The Monkey Orphenoch then leapt up and ran on all fours along the bookshelves.

"Hey!" shouted Kaixa as she drew her phone and converted it into Blaster Mode, dialing in the code to activate it.

**"Burst Mode!"**

"Take that!" She pulled the trigger and fired concentrated bursts of energy from her gun at the Orphenoch. She missed a few times but finally got it in the back as the Orphenoch screeched and fell to the ground. "Alright!"

Faiz charged at the Orphenoch and tackled into it. The Orphenoch clawed at Faiz to force him to let go but he was stubborn. The Monkey Orphenoch kicked Faiz off him and then let out a shout. The sudden sonic attack crashed into Faiz and tossed him backwards into Kaixa. The Orphenoch then began to chuck books at them.

"Damn it!" Kaixa smacked a book away. "This thing is annoying!"

"I agree with you," said Faiz, "And it's going down!"

With a shout the two Riders ran through the book barrage. The Orphenoch saw them coming in and gave up, running from them. They arrived in the reading area and the Monkey Orphenoch found itself staring them down.

"Now we got you," said Kaixa as she clenched her fists.

"We're turning you into dust," said Faiz sternly.

The Monkey Orphenoch produced a staff and shouted, "I'm going to kill you first!" The Monkey Orphenoch was a male one judging by the sound of his voice and he sounded mad. With a shout he lunged. He thrust his staff into Faiz's head, knocking him backwards and then swung down on Kaixa who dodged to the side. She drew the Blaygun and aimed, firing several shots at the Orphenoch's back as he descended. She then used a drop kick on the Orphenoch, knocking him to the floor.

Faiz came charging and his fists went flying as he punched the Monkey Orphenoch over and over again. He gave the monster a right hook, a left hook and finally a jab in the abdomen before using a brutal haymaker to send him flying. The Monkey Orphenoch landed painfully upon one of the tables. Faiz then jumped up and performed a heel kick that came crashing down on the Orphenoch, splitting the table in two in the process. He then grabbed the Orphenoch by the throat and tossed him away. The Orphenoch tumbled along the floor and the Riders glared at the Monkey Orphenoch.

"Time to end this," said Faiz as he strapped on the Faiz Shot with the Mission Memory installed.

"Right," agreed Kaixa as she too strapped on her Kaixa Shot after installing the Mission Memory.

The two Riders opened their phones and pressed 'Enter'.

"**Exceed Charge.**"

Energy ran up the Photon Streams from their belts and went down their arms into the Shots. The two then charged at the Orphenoch and swung, ramming their fists into the Orphenoch as it got back to his feet. The Monkey Orphenoch went flying into the wall with a loud crash and then fell with blue flames erupting from his body. Before long his body exploded with blue flames and crumbled to dust, leaving a red floating Phi symbol and a yellow floating Chi symbol before they faded away.

"Let's go," said Faiz as he walked away, followed by Kaixa. What both Riders failed to notice was the surveillance camera which had captured the entire thing.

* * *

Parking in the school parking lot, Kat and Ryuji dismounted their personal bikes and collected their things. Hopping off the back of Ryuji's bike was Kotonoha. Ever since they met and became friends, Ryuji had always picked her up and given her ride to and from school. That little tradition hadn't changed even after they started dating.

It had only been a few days since the incident with the Monkey Orphenoch, but there hadn't seemed to be any fallout from the fight in the library. No police were circling the area anyway. Walking towards the school, they noticed groups of students crowding together over something or other. Not being ones to follow trends unless it was badass, Kat and Ryuji continued on their way.

Or would have had Sekai not dashed over to them holding up a picture of two familiar Riders.

"You guys!!" she squealed. "Check it out! Faiz and that other Rider Katsura-san saw were spotted fighting in the district library!! EEEEE!!"

Ryuji thought his heart stopped. "…what?"

"I know! It's amazing isn't it?" Sekai gushed. "The whole fight was caught on the surveillance tapes!"

"Really? May I see?" Kotonoha inquired.

Ryuji felt the urge to curse the air blue. All of his work at trying to stay under the radar and be a simple urban legend was going to waste. Now people knew he existed and were going to try finding him no doubt. At least Kat was still an unknown at this point.

"Hey, that's Kaixa!" Kat gasped out loud.

Ryuji visibly groaned as Kat once again did something to bring attention to herself.

"Hey, how do you know that's his name?" Sekai asked.

Kat lied, "Well, when one of those monsters attacked me, Kaixa came to my rescue. I heard that monster call him by that name."

Sekai seemed to accept that answer. That reporter, Miyako Serizawa, had mentioned that she had gotten Faiz's name straight from one of those monsters' mouth.

"They are so amazing," said Kotonoha as she gazed at the photos. Although Kaixa had saved her and Ryuji's life, Faiz seemed more…majestic somehow. She felt a certain connection as she stared at that yellow visor of his that covered his face.

"Hey, we should get moving or we'll be late for class," said Ryuji in a commanding tone. "Come on, Kotonoha."

"Hai!" Kotonoha nodded before handing the photo back to Sekai and linking her arm with Ryuji's as they headed to the shoe lockers.

"Those two are always so lovey-dovey," said Sekai. "How come I never saw it before?"

"What do you mean?" Kat asked.

"Well, I was trying to hook my classmate of mine with Katsura-san but she basically had her heart set out on someone."

"My little brother, right?"

Sekai nodded. "Well, obviously. When I asked her she basically told me she's been crushing on him since they met last semester on the first day of school when they became best friends. They were inseparable."

"And Ryuji's overprotective, isn't he?" inquired Kat.

"Well, from what I heard, there were some students who wanted to bully Katsura-san, but that brother of yours made them change their minds rather quickly."

"He has that effect on people," Kat agreed, knowing how scary Ryuji could get when angered. "So, I heard there was going to be a big sports festival. I really can't wait for that thing to happen."

* * *

"So what do we do about it?"

Ryuji was with Warren in the faculty room as the elder Rider looked over the photos he managed to confiscate from some students who rather look at them instead of pay attention in class. It was kind of futile since there were probably a number of students selling copies all over the school. Still, it served to help him see what got Ryuji upset this time.

"Not your best angle," Warren commented idly.

"Oi! Pay attention!" Ryuji snapped.

"I heard you," Warren sighed as he dropped the pictures onto his desk. "There's really no big deal. So people know Faiz and Kaixa exist. It's not like it's the end of the world. We weren't really trying to be subtle anyway. Not when there are Orphenochs about."

"Speak for yourself," Ryuji muttered.

"Still, with all this publicity, maybe I should give Delta some time in the spotlight," Warren grinned.

"ARGH!!"

* * *

Kamen Rider Chrome: Kat is gonna enjoy the attention this is gonna get her, isn't she?


End file.
